A verdict is anticipated on Friday in the trial of Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who faces charges of kidnapping and dereliction of duty for his 2019 refusal to permit a migrant rescue vessel to dock in Italy.
Prosecutors in Sicily have recommended a six-year prison sentence. Salvini, leader of the right-wing Lega party and an ally of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has stated he will appeal if convicted.
He has consistently denied the accusations, asserting that the judges are acting politically and insisting his only offence was seeking to “protect Italy.”
Prosecutor Geri Ferrara argued in September that human rights must take precedence over “state sovereignty.”
“A person stranded at sea must be saved and it is irrelevant whether they are classified as a migrant, a crewmember or a passenger,” she stated.
The NGO ship Open Arms, carrying 147 migrants rescued off the Libyan coast, was denied entry to the Italian island of Lampedusa on Salvini’s orders, who was then the interior minister. The vessel remained at sea for nearly three weeks, during which the health of the migrants on board significantly worsened.
Prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio eventually ordered the ship’s preventive seizure after inspecting the deteriorating conditions on board. Salvini asserted that the government of Giuseppe Conte supported his mission to “close the ports” of Italy to NGO rescue ships.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has expressed solidarity with Salvini, arguing that protecting Italy’s borders should not be criminalised. She has not suggested he should resign if found guilty, and Salvini has stated he would not step down. Salvini has frequently mentioned the trial and impending verdict in social media posts and public addresses.
Elly Schlein, leader of the centre-left opposition Democratic Party, accused Salvini of “propaganda and fuelling a serious institutional clash”.
The three female prosecutors have been under police protection since September following online harassment and threats.
Salvini’s Lega party supporters are preparing demonstrations in his favour.
On Wednesday, Lega MEPs attended a European Parliament session in Strasbourg wearing t-shirts reading “Guilty of defending Italy,” a slogan previously used by Salvini.
“A conviction would be an incredibly serious matter,” said Lega deputy secretary Andrea Crippa. “It would be like convicting the entire Italian people, the Italian parliament and the elected government.”
International figures have also commented on the trial. Elon Musk tweeted that the prosecutor should be imprisoned for six years, while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, an ally of Salvini, called the trial “shameful.”
If convicted, Salvini intends to appeal to Italy’s highest court, the Supreme Court of Cassation, a process that could take months and would not affect his government and parliamentary roles.
Frances Ibiefo
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