09-16-2024, 05:30 AM
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia MeloniPrime Minister Giorgia Meloni and other ministers from her government have expressed their support for Salvini, defending his actions. (AP)

Italian prosecutors have requested a six-year prison sentence for right-wing League leader Matteo Salvini, stemming from his 2019 decision to block over 100 migrants from disembarking in Italy while he was serving as interior minister. If convicted, Salvini could also be barred from holding public office.

Prosecutors in Palermo have charged Salvini, who is currently the deputy premier and transport minister in PM Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government, with kidnapping for leaving a migrant rescue ship operated by the charity Open Arms stranded at sea for 19 days.


During the 2019 standoff, some migrants, in desperation, threw themselves overboard as the ship’s captain pleaded for access to a nearby safe port. Ultimately, a court order allowed the remaining 89 people onboard to disembark on the Italian island of Lampedusa.

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Salvini took to social media on Saturday, stating, “I would do it all again: defending borders from illegal immigrants is not a crime.” His lawyer, Giulia Bongiorno, is set to present her defence on 18 October in Palermo, with a possible verdict expected by the end of the month.

In Italy, convictions only become definitive after a three-stage judicial process, but an initial conviction could prevent Salvini from holding office.

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Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and other ministers from her government have expressed their support for Salvini, defending his actions.

Meloni, who has made a crackdown on migration a cornerstone of her policies since coming to power in 2022, aims to deter migrants from risking dangerous Mediterranean crossings facilitated by smugglers.

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In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Meloni wrote, “It is incredible that a minister of the Italian Republic risks six years in prison for doing his job defending the nation’s borders, as required by the mandate received from its citizens.”

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During his tenure as interior minister in Premier Giuseppe Conte’s first government (2018-2019), Salvini took a tough stance on migration, enforcing a “closed ports” policy that denied entry to charity ships rescuing migrants in distress in the Mediterranean. He frequently accused humanitarian organisations of encouraging human trafficking.

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