“Great satisfaction with the acquittal of Matteo Salvini“. These are the first words of the prime minister Giorgia Meloni after the first instance ruling of the Court of Palermo in the process Open Armswith the deputy prime minister, minister and leader of the League acquitted “because the fact does not exist”. The prosecution had asked for 6 years in prison for him kidnapping e refusal of official documents for not having landed in August 2019 147 migrants rescued by the Spanish NGO ship.
“A judgment – underlines Meloni on X – which demonstrates how much they were unfounded and surreal the accusations made against him. Defending the Italian borders can never be a crime. Matteo Salvini's acquittal is great news. Let's continue togetherwith tenacity and determination, to fight illegal immigration, human trafficking and defend national sovereignty. Hurray!”.
“ACQUITTED for stopping mass immigration and defended my country. The League wins, common sense wins, Italy wins”, writes Salvini himself on social media, who at the time of the events was Minister of the Interior in the yellow-green government led by Giuseppe Conte. In the courtroom, Salvini emotionally embraced his partner Francesca Verdinithe lawyer Giulia Bongiorno and the Northern League representatives who accompanied him to Palermo, to the Minister of Education Giuseppe Valditara a Claudio Durigon.
“Justice is done. I have always believed in the good reasons that guided the then Interior Minister Salvini in his decisions. I welcome this sentence with satisfaction”. This was stated by the president of the Veneto Region Luca Zaia. “Salvini – continues the Northern League governor – acted in legitimate interest of our country and in full respect of its institutional responsibilities. It should be remembered that, in the Open Arms case, all migrants with precarious physical conditions were disembarked promptly, while the others were offered the possibility of leaving the ship by signing a form which, however, was never made to sign by the NGO. Furthermore, the competence for the designation of the Place of Safety (Pos) was up to Spain oa Maltanot to Italy, as clarified by the defense. Despite this, the Open Arms ignored the indications received from these States, deliberately choosing to head towards Italy.”
“It should also be underlined – adds Zaia – that in subsequent contexts and with the governments that followed the Open Arms affair, the waiting times for disembarkation are even doubleddemonstrating how much it was complex the management of these operations”. “This sentence confirms that Minister Salvini acted with rigor and sense of responsibility in a delicate situation, highlighting the unfoundedness of the accusations against him”, concludes President Zaia. “And a big day for Italy”. So instead the Minister of Education and Merit Valditara, listening to Salvini's acquittal sentence.
