Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was scheduled to testify on Friday in a trial over whether Italy illegally blocked migrants from disembarking at Italian ports under the previous government.
Salvini, leader of the far-right Alliance party that is part of current Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition government, strongly denies charges of deprivation of liberty and abuse of power over the August 2019 incident.
In October 2021, he was accused of refusing to disembark from the charity rescue ship Open Arms, where sanitary conditions were rapidly deteriorating, and using his position as interior minister at the time to detain 147 migrants at sea. He has been on trial in Palermo, Sicily since March. It’s getting worse.
If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
Salvini, a hard-line populist known for his “Italy First” policy, has repeatedly attacked illegal immigration to increase his political capital.
In 2019, during Giuseppe Conte’s coalition government, Italy implemented a policy of “port closure”, halting the entry of charity ships to rescue migrants making the often fatal journey from Africa across the Mediterranean to Europe. was rejected by Italy.
Salvini insisted Italy was protected by the security law, a tough measure against human traffickers who often organize crowded boats from North Africa.
He said the decision to block the entry of a rescue ship run by the Spanish non-governmental organization Open Arms was agreed upon by the government, including Mr Conte.
He has staged what appears to be a politically motivated trial by taking selfies in front of defendants’ cells in the courtroom and posting patriotic messages on his social media accounts. He has repeatedly ridiculed the court.
Salvini also mocked the plaintiffs’ star witness, actor and activist Richard Gere, who boarded the migrant boat in solidarity but ultimately did not testify.
Friday’s hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. (8:30 p.m. Japan time) and will be the first time Salvini himself will take the stand.
―“There is no legal basis”―
The ship was blocked for nearly three weeks, until finally, following a court order, the migrants were allowed to disembark on the small island of Lampedusa.
Open Arms members testified that the migrants’ physical and mental health was at risk due to deplorable sanitary conditions on board, including an outbreak of scabies.
The passengers became so desperate that some jumped into the sea during the standoff, which made global headlines and drew condemnation from humanitarian groups.
The incident came amid a political crisis in Rome after Salvini defected from government in an attempt to trigger new elections in which he hoped to give his allied party the lead.
Instead, Mr. Conte formed a new coalition government, and in 2020 the Senate voted to strip Mr. Salvini of his parliamentary immunity, allowing him to stand trial in both the Open Arms standoff and another similar case. made possible.
The other case, in which Salvini was accused of refusing to disembark 116 migrants from Italy’s Gregoretti coast guard ship in July 2019, was dismissed by a court in Catania in 2021. .
Conte testified in the current trial that he called for unaccompanied minors to be evacuated from the Open Arms ship.
The former prime minister said he had tried to “morally persuade” Mr. Salvini and believed that “the decision to let him stay had no legal basis.”
The defense plans to begin the case next month.
ams/ar/bc/smw