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VoA
- September 14, 2024 23:29
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Italian prosecutors asked a court on Saturday to sentence the leader of the right-wing Lega Nord party, Matteo Salvini, to six years in prison for ordering in 2019 to stop more than 100 migrants from landing on Italian shores.
Former interior minister at the time and now deputy prime minister and transport minister in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government, he has been charged with hostage-taking and is awaiting sentencing for his decision to let the migrants out to sea.
Prosecutors ordered the seizure of the ship and the evacuation of the people on board.
On Saturday, the prosecution requested the measure of imprisonment for Salvini, during a session held in Palermo. The decision will be made by a senior judge, after a three-stage court process has already gone through.
A final decision could also ban Salvini from holding public office.
"I would do it all over again: protecting the borders from illegal immigrants is not a criminal offense," he wrote on the X network on Saturday.
During his 14 months as interior minister, Salvini stopped several ships from docking in Italian ports in an attempt to stem the flow of migrants. He has regularly accused migrant aid organizations of essentially encouraging human trafficking.
Salvini's party is part of Meloni's center-right government.
"It is unbelievable that a minister of the Italian Republic risks six years in prison because he did his duty to protect the country's borders, as required by the mandate given by the citizens," said Meloni in a post on the X network. in the criminal offense the duty to protect Italy's borders from illegal immigration, is a very serious precedent. My full solidarity".
Meloni, who came to power in 2022, has vowed to repel unauthorized flows from North Africa with tougher immigration laws, restrictions on aid and rescue organizations at sea, and plans to build reception camps for immigrants in Albania.
At the same time, it has opened the door for hundreds of thousands of immigrants to work legally in Italy in an effort to fill employment gaps in the country and stop migrant smuggling.
Interior Ministry data shows that the number of irregular migrants who have arrived in Italy by sea so far in 2024 is about two-thirds lower than in the same period last year - 44,675 people.
