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| Italy's deputy PM Salvini faces verdict in migrant rescue boat kidnap trial | |
| (2 months later) | |
| The Open Arms rescue boat was kept from docking for three weeks with 147 migrants on board | The Open Arms rescue boat was kept from docking for three weeks with 147 migrants on board |
| Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has been acquitted in a long-running case over his refusal to let a migrant rescue boat dock in Italy in 2019. | Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has been acquitted in a long-running case over his refusal to let a migrant rescue boat dock in Italy in 2019. |
| Judges in the Sicilian city of Palermo cleared him of two counts of kidnap and dereliction of duty, after prosecutors had sought a jail term of six years. | Judges in the Sicilian city of Palermo cleared him of two counts of kidnap and dereliction of duty, after prosecutors had sought a jail term of six years. |
| Salvini, who's leader of the right-wing Lega party and a government ally of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has always argued he was guilty only of wanting to "protect Italy". | Salvini, who's leader of the right-wing Lega party and a government ally of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has always argued he was guilty only of wanting to "protect Italy". |
| "I have kept my promises, combating mass immigration and reducing departures, landings and deaths at sea," he told reporters outside court on Friday. | "I have kept my promises, combating mass immigration and reducing departures, landings and deaths at sea," he told reporters outside court on Friday. |
| On hearing the verdict, Salvini clenched his fists in a sign of victory and hugged his girlfriend, film producer Francesca Verdini, Ansa news agency reported. | On hearing the verdict, Salvini clenched his fists in a sign of victory and hugged his girlfriend, film producer Francesca Verdini, Ansa news agency reported. |
| The trial began in September 2021, focusing on a case when Salvini, as interior minister, had sought to stop irregular migrants crossing the Mediterranean by blocking Italy's ports. | The trial began in September 2021, focusing on a case when Salvini, as interior minister, had sought to stop irregular migrants crossing the Mediterranean by blocking Italy's ports. |
| He had ordered an NGO ship called Open Arms to be prevented from docking on the island of Lampedusa after it had picked up 147 migrants off the Libyan coast. | He had ordered an NGO ship called Open Arms to be prevented from docking on the island of Lampedusa after it had picked up 147 migrants off the Libyan coast. |
| The Open Arms remained at sea for almost three weeks, and the health situation of the migrants on board seriously deteriorated. | The Open Arms remained at sea for almost three weeks, and the health situation of the migrants on board seriously deteriorated. |
| Eventually, the prosecutor in the Sicilian city of Agrigento, Luigi Patronaggio, ordered the vessel to be preventatively seized after inspecting it and noting the "difficult situation on board". | Eventually, the prosecutor in the Sicilian city of Agrigento, Luigi Patronaggio, ordered the vessel to be preventatively seized after inspecting it and noting the "difficult situation on board". |
| The captain of Open Arms and some of those rescued from sea were civil parties in the case, which began in September 2021. | The captain of Open Arms and some of those rescued from sea were civil parties in the case, which began in September 2021. |
| The three female prosecutors in the case have been under police protection after being harassed online and receiving threats. | The three female prosecutors in the case have been under police protection after being harassed online and receiving threats. |
| One of them, Geri Ferrara, told the court in September that human rights had to prevail over the "protection of state sovereignty". | One of them, Geri Ferrara, told the court in September that human rights had to prevail over the "protection of 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 said. | "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 said. |
| Salvini maintained that the then-government of Giuseppe Conte had backed him fully in his mission to "close the ports" of Italy to NGO rescue ships. | Salvini maintained that the then-government of Giuseppe Conte had backed him fully in his mission to "close the ports" of Italy to NGO rescue ships. |
| In recent months, the deputy prime minister had frequently referenced the trial and the forthcoming verdict in social media posts and during public speeches and interviews. | In recent months, the deputy prime minister had frequently referenced the trial and the forthcoming verdict in social media posts and during public speeches and interviews. |
| PM Giorgia Meloni has stood by her deputy prime minister, saying he had her and her government's "solidarity". | PM Giorgia Meloni has stood by her deputy prime minister, saying he had her and her government's "solidarity". |
| "Turning the duty to protect Italy's borders from illegal immigration into a crime is a very serious precedent," she posted on X earlier this year. | "Turning the duty to protect Italy's borders from illegal immigration into a crime is a very serious precedent," she posted on X earlier this year. |
| Matteo Salvini's party has rallied around him ahead of the verdict | Matteo Salvini's party has rallied around him ahead of the verdict |
| After the verdict, the governor of the Veneto region and Lega party colleague Luca Zaia said justice had been done. | After the verdict, the governor of the Veneto region and Lega party colleague Luca Zaia said justice had been done. |
| "Salvini acted in the legitimate interest of our country and in full respect for his institutional responsibilities," he posted on Facebook. | "Salvini acted in the legitimate interest of our country and in full respect for his institutional responsibilities," he posted on Facebook. |
| Salvini had been criticised after he said the Italian judiciary was "politicised" and that some magistrates were "clearly following left-wing politics". | Salvini had been criticised after he said the Italian judiciary was "politicised" and that some magistrates were "clearly following left-wing politics". |
| Elly Schlein, leader of the centre-left opposition Democratic Party, accused him of "spreading propaganda and fuelling a serious institutional clash". | Elly Schlein, leader of the centre-left opposition Democratic Party, accused him of "spreading propaganda and fuelling a serious institutional clash". |
| Members of Salvini's Lega party rallied around him. On Wednesday, Lega MEPs turned up at a European Parliament session in Strasbourg wearing t-shirts that read "Guilty of defending Italy" - a slogan Salvini has used in the past. | Members of Salvini's Lega party rallied around him. On Wednesday, Lega MEPs turned up at a European Parliament session in Strasbourg wearing t-shirts that read "Guilty of defending Italy" - a slogan Salvini has used in the past. |
| Current Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said on Friday that whatever the sentence it would not affect the government. | Current Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said on Friday that whatever the sentence it would not affect the government. |
| However, Lega deputy secretary Andrea Crippa had warned that a guilty verdict would be "like convicting the entire Italian people, the Italian parliament and the elected government". | However, Lega deputy secretary Andrea Crippa had warned that a guilty verdict would be "like convicting the entire Italian people, the Italian parliament and the elected government". |
| Others outside Italy have waded into the debate too. | Others outside Italy have waded into the debate too. |
| "That mad prosecutor should be the one who goes to prison for six years," Elon Musk tweeted, while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close ally of Salvini, called the trial "shameful". | "That mad prosecutor should be the one who goes to prison for six years," Elon Musk tweeted, while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close ally of Salvini, called the trial "shameful". |