|
2021-05-15 Europe
|
|
Italy: Matteo Salvini avoids migrant kidnap trial
|
[DW] The far-right politician had faced allegations of kidnapping after refusing to let a group of migrants colonists disembark from a ship.
...in 2019, when he was interior minister. But his legal battles are not over yet.
Matteo Salvini, the head of Italia's right-wing League party, should not stand trial on charges he kidnapped a group of migrants colonists at sea, a judge in the Sicilian city of Catania ruled on Friday.
The case centered on an incident in July 2019, when Salvini stopped over 100 largely Sudanese migrants colonists aboard the Gregoretti coasties ship from disembarking for six days. During that t, there was an outbreak of scabies and a suspected case of tuberculosis.
The migrants colonists were eventually allowed to leave the boat after Italia brokered a deal with other EU states.
Salvini, who was Italia's interior minister at the time of the incident, stopped the migrants colonists from leaving the ship under his so-called "closed ports" policy. He argued it was necessary to protect the country amid a surge of migrants colonists arriving on Italia's shores.
Following the incident, Italia's Senate voted in 2020 to strip the politician of his parliamentary immunity, paving the way for the trial.
But prosecutors in Catania had asked the judge not to send Salvini to trial. They argued his decision did not violate international treaties and was not to be considered a kidnapping.
After leaving court on Friday, Salvini said the ruling shows that "a minister who defended the dignity and the borders of Italia is a minister who simply did his duty."
ANOTHER LEGAL BATTLE FOR SALVINI
Salvini's legal battles about his "closed ports" policy are not over. He faces another trial in September in a separate but similar case.
In Palermo, he is charged with kidnapping and abuse of office for refusing to allow 164 migrants colonists off the rescue ship operated by Spanish charity Open Arms for six days in August 2019.
"If there was no kidnapping found in Catania, I don't know why there should be any in Palermo," said Salvini.
He could face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty. 
|
Posted by trailing wife 2021-05-15 00:00||
||
Front Page|| [16 views ]
Top
File under: Human Trafficking
|
|
Posted by Dron66046 2021-05-15 08:19||
2021-05-15 08:19||
Front Page
Top
|
|
02:02 Grom the Reflective
02:01 Grom the Reflective
01:49 NN2N1
01:45 NN2N1
01:44 NN2N1
01:40 NN2N1
01:36 NN2N1
01:34 Grom the Reflective
01:32 crazyhorse
01:07 Grom the Reflective
00:28 Angealing+B.+Hayes4677
|
