justice – Italian prosecutors accuse him of preventing migrants from disembarking at an Italian port in 2019
Six years in prison. That’s the sentence Italian prosecutors requested Saturday for Matteo Salvini, Italy’s far-right deputy prime minister, for preventing migrants from disembarking at an Italian port in 2019.
Matteo Salvini, part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition, is on trial for alleged deprivation of liberty and abuse of power for keeping 147 migrants at sea for weeks on a ship run by the charity Open Arms.
“The prosecution has asked that former Interior Minister Salvini be sentenced to six years in prison,” Open Arms lawyer Arturo Salerni said as the trial neared its conclusion. The verdict in the trial, which began in October 2021, is expected next month, he added.
Matteo Salvini was not present at the hearing. He had previously posted on Facebook: “I would do it again if I had to do it again: defending the borders against illegal migrants is not a crime.”
“It is incredible that a minister of the Republic risks six years in prison for having done his job in defending the nation’s borders, as required by the mandate he received from his fellow citizens,” he added on X.
When summarizing his indictment, prosecutor Geri Ferrara, from the court of Pal(…) - 20minutes
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