Italian prosecutors on Saturday demanded a six-year prison sentence for Matteo Salvini, Italy’s far-right deputy prime minister, for denying migrants access to one of the country’s ports in 2019.
Salvini, a partner in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition, is on trial for alleged deprivation of liberty and abuse of power by keeping 147 migrants at sea for weeks on a ship run by the charity Open Arms.
“The Public Prosecutor has demanded a six-year prison sentence for former Interior Minister Salvini,” Open Arms lawyer Arturo Salerni told AFP, as the “long and difficult trial” nears its end.
A verdict in the trial, which began in October 2021, could come next month, he said. Salvini would be free to appeal any decision.
Salvini was not there, but on Facebook he said: “Six years in prison for blocking arrivals and defending Italy and Italians? Madness. Defending Italy is not a crime.”
Meloni also criticized prosecutors.
“It is incredible that a minister of the Italian Republic risks 6 years in prison for carrying out his task of defending the country’s borders, as required by the mandate received from its citizens,” the prime minister wrote on X.
In closing, prosecutor Geri Ferrara told the court in Palermo, Sicily, that there was “one important principle that cannot be discussed”.
“Along with human rights and the protection of state sovereignty, it is human rights that must prevail in our fortunate democratic system,” he said.
The ship was stuck at sea for almost three weeks before the migrants were finally allowed to disembark on the island of Lampedusa following a court order.
Open Arms members have stated that the physical and mental condition of the migrants reached crisis point as hygienic conditions on board deteriorated and there was even an outbreak of scabies.
– ‘Chaos’ –
Salvini, then chairman of the anti-immigration Lega party and interior minister, testified in January that he had understood that “the situation on board the ship was not in danger”.
“The POS (safe haven) should have been made available immediately and without delay,” prosecutor Marzia Sabella said on Saturday, according to Italian media.
“By refusing to do so, she broke the rules and did not follow the government’s plan,” she said, adding that Salvini’s “choices” had led to “chaos.”
Salvini is a populist known for his “Italians first” policies and has repeatedly used attacks on illegal immigration to increase his political influence.
In 2019, under Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, he introduced a “closed ports” policy, with Italy denying access to charity ships rescuing migrants stranded while crossing the Mediterranean.
He saw it as a tough measure against people smugglers operating boats between North Africa and Italy and Malta, the world’s deadliest border crossing.
Much of the trial focused on whether decision-making and responsibility in the case lay with the Conte government or with Salvini alone.
Salvini previously faced a similar trial after refusing to let 116 migrants off an Italian coastguard boat in July 2019. But in 2021, the case was thrown out by a court in Catania.
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