“Acquitted for stopping mass immigration and defending my country. The League wins, common sense wins, Italy wins.” While in the Pagliarelli bunker classroom a thunderous applause for the pronouncement of acquittalafter the long embrace with his partner Francesca Verdini, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini entrusted his joy to social networks. The only defendant in the Open Arms trial, he immediately published the only headline he wanted to read on Instagram: “Salvini acquitted”.
The leader of the League spoke with reporters, explaining how this is “a beautiful day for Italy. From tomorrow I will return to work in the office with enthusiasm, desire, passion, determination and energy. We took a risk, yes, but of those who don't take risks in life aren't going anywhere. The court in Palermo, like the one in Catania before, said that we have done our duty and that fighting mass immigration and the organized and financed invasion is not a crime. but a right. Good Christmas to all of you.”
The prosecution had asked for 6 years in prison for kidnapping and refusal of official documents: after the verdict Salvini clenches his fists in a sign of victory and hugs whoever comes his way. He looks around, looking for his companion. He finds her in tears, they indulge in a long embrace. Even the lawyer Giulia Bongiorno is moved. And it is above all to her, a long-experienced lawyer from Palermo (her defense of Andreotti was historic), that she addresses the first of her thanks: “You were all good”.
Lawyer Giulia Bongiorno: “It is not a sentence against migrants, but against those who exploit them”
And it is the lawyer Giulia Bongiorno, leaving the bunker courtroom, who comments on the sentence and the long defense work done: “It is a sentence because the fact does not exist, it is a sentence of acquittal with the first paragraph of 530 Acquittal is given with the second paragraph when the evidence is contradictory. Instead, the fullest one was chosen among the acquittal formulas. It is not a sentence against migrants, it is a sentence against those who exploit migrants there is It was a path that brought us here. I want to clarify that it is not an acquittal with some ifs or buts, there are those who spoke of a mega galactic sentence or with some declassification. But it was a great acquittal.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni: “Great satisfaction with this acquittal”
Meanwhile, the country is divided in half. There are those who rejoice upon hearing Matteo Salvini's acquittal sentence, like Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. “Great satisfaction for the acquittal of the vice president and minister Matteo Salvini in the Open Arms trial. A judgment that demonstrates how unfounded and surreal the accusations made against him were.” Echoing him is the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Lorenzo Fontana: “I am happy for Matteo Salvini and for the sentence of the Palermo court, which acquitted him of the charges. I know that it was a difficult situation for him and his loved ones and difficult. I extend my embrace to all of them.”
From Piantedosi to Valditara and Tajani, a long round of applause in the Chamber
Even the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi says he is “infinitely happy for Matteo Salvini. But above all, as a citizen and as a minister, I underline the importance of this sentence which reaffirms a very important principle: the political line of a government was talking about this in Palermo. And the truth is that the strategy against irregular immigration implemented by the then Interior Minister Matteo Salvini coherently represented the political line of the Conte 1 Government, collectively pursued. by the executive with the support of the parliamentary majority. The magistrates have evidently reaffirmed this principle which is fundamental to ensuring a correct relationship between the powers of the State”.
In a note, the deputy and deputy minister at MIT Edoardo Rixi, however, says that “Minister Matteo Salvini's actions in the Open Arms case were fully in line with the country's interests. He acted to protect security and defend the sovereignty of Italy. The NGO Open Arms refused to follow the indications of sovereign states such as Malta, Spain and Italy. In particular, since 18 August 2019 there was a specific order from the Madrid government ordering it to head to Italy. Spain: Open Arms therefore refused to obey an order from a sovereign state. The result is a waste of Italian taxpayers' money that cries out for revenge with 24 hearings in Palermo, 3 years of trial and 45 witnesses operated to protect Italy from dynamics that risk undermining our security and our future. Defending the borders is not a crime.”
The Minister of Education and Merit Giuseppe Valditara instead says “It's a great day for Italy”. While the deputy prime minister and foreign minister Antonio Tajani on X writes: “There is a judge in Palermo! A hug to Matteo Salvini”. Meanwhile, the centre-right majority, busy examining the maneuver in the Chamber of Deputies, welcomed the news arriving from the Court of Palermo with long applause.
The president of the Schifani Region: “No doubt about the correctness of his actions”
The President of the Sicilian Region Renato Schifani: “I welcome with joy the acquittal sentence of Minister Matteo Salvini in the Open Arms trial, with the motivation that 'the fact does not exist'. A formula that leaves no doubt and which confirms the correctness of his actions of which I have always been certain. I hope that this verdict will contribute to bringing serenity back to the public debate on such delicate issues and to fostering a climate of institutional collaboration in the interests of citizens”.
The founder of the Mediterranean NGO Saving Human: “Unsurprising news”
The founder of the NGO, Mediterranea Saving Human, Luca Casarini said: “The acquittal of a powerful person is not surprising news. That the suffering caused to innocent people by a powerful person is not considered a crime, either. It seems to me everything is normal, nothing too strange.”
