"I'm happy that protecting the homeland is not a crime!" Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini told the ANSA news agency on Friday evening after he was acquitted of all charges at the trial held at the Palermo prosecutor's office. According to the indictment, in 2019 Salvini broke the law as interior minister when he prevented the Spanish rescue ship Open Arms from docking with 147 migrants on board.

Matteo Salvini, leader of the right-wing Italian government party League, currently Minister of Transport and Deputy Prime Minister, listened to the decision of the legal body in the bunker room of the Pagliarelli prison in Palermo.

"I was acquitted because I stopped mass migration and defended my country. Long live the League, long live common sense, long live Italy!"

he wrote on his social media page.

Salvini added: "Defending the homeland is not a crime, but a right. I will move forward even more decisively."

He noted that "those who thought they could use migrants as a tool for political struggle have lost, but are now returning home to Spain empty-handed."

The non-final verdict was announced by the court after nearly four years of criminal proceedings. The indictment requested a six-year prison sentence for the former interior minister, who did not allow the landing of around 140 illegal immigrants on the island of Lampedusa who arrived on the ship of the same name of the NGO Open Arms. The ship languished off the coast of the island for three weeks, waiting for permission.

Acquitted of all charges

According to the president of the court, Roberto Murgia, Matteo Salvini was acquitted of all charges.

The brief justification was that the former interior minister did not commit a crime when he detained the Spanish ship,

and it is not a crime that he did not allow the migrants to land immediately. The detailed justification will be announced after ninety days.

The head of Open Arms, Oscar Camps, said before the court that they are considering the possibility of an appeal.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her satisfaction with the acquittal. He said the accusation was completely unfounded, border protection should never be a crime, and the government will continue to crack down on illegal immigration and human trafficking.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said that a government's migration policy cannot be impeached in this way.

The secretary general of the opposition Democratic Party (PD), Elly Schlein, emphasized that they respect the court decision, but continue to criticize the migration policy of the right.

Source: Hirado.hu, MTI

Cover photo: Matteo Salvini, president of the Italian governing party League, in the program Porta a Porta of Italian public television, Rai Uno, in Rome on June 15, 2022.
MTI/EPA/ANSA/Riccardo Antimiani