Italy: former far-right minister Matteo Salvini on trial for blocking migrants at sea – franceinfo

Kick-off of an extraordinary trial on the other side of the Alps. Accused of having illegally blocked 147 migrants at sea in 2019 when he was Minister of the Interior, the far-right leader Matteo Salvini will have to explain himself before a judge in Palermo, Sicily, on Saturday 23 October.

The trial, attended by Matteo Salvini, began on September 15 but was postponed immediately. Saturday’s hearing is expected to be largely procedural, with Judge Roberto Murgia having to decide on the admissibility of the witnesses presented.

The 48-year-old former minister is the leader of La Ligue, a far-right anti-migrant party that belongs to the current ruling coalition led by Mario Draghi. He is accused of kidnapping people and abuse of power for having prohibited the disembarkation of 147 migrants rescued at sea by the NGO Open Arms in August 2019. Twenty-three civil parties, including nine migrants who were on board, are represented at trial.

Matteo Salvini had refused for six days to grant a safe port to the Spanish NGO ship which anchored off the small Italian island of Lampedusa (south of Sicily) as conditions on board worsened. The migrants were only allowed to disembark thanks to an order issued by the Sicilian justice after an on-board inspection which had confirmed the seriousness of the health situation on the overcrowded ship.

Known for his controversial statements, especially on immigration, Matteo Salvini was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior in the first government of Giuseppe Conte, from June 2018 to September 2019.

He claims to have acted for the good of Italy and to dissuade migrants from embarking on African coasts for a dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean, stressing that the decision had been validated by the government of the time and Giuseppe Conte.