CATANIA (ITALY) – Far right Italian leader Matteo Salvini appeared in court on Saturday to try to persuade a judge not to book him for detaining migrants at sea, a crime which has a penalty of 15 years of imprisonment.
The case relates to an incident in July 2019, when Salvini, who was the then interior minister, prevented 100 people on board a coastguard ship from disembarking for six days as he waited for European allies to take the migrants in.
Leader of the League party, Salvini is trying to gain political mileage out of the case, saying he acted in the interest of the nation by slowing the flow of illegal migrants from across the Mediterranean.
“Moving forward with my head held high, with confidence, certain to have always acted in the defence of the homeland and for the security of Italians,” he tweeted before entering the court premises in eastern Sicily.
The in-camera hearing is being presided over by Judge Nuzio Sarpietro and there could be subsequent sittings. The Corriere della Sera reported that the judge might interview Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte before taking a decision on whether or not to indict Salvini.
Sicilian magistrates put together a case, accusing Salvini of kidnapping the migrants and keeping them at sea in the blazing summer.
On the other hand, Salvini defended his action saying that the group of migrants was well treated aboard the vessel and he stressed that Conte and the entire government backed his decision then. Two weeks after the incident, the League party quit the coalition and is now in the opposition.
Ahead of the hearing, the League leader rallied all the parliamentarians of his party in a show of solidarity and they hosted three days of debates on the future of the nation. Prominent right-wing leaders also appeared to show their support.
“It is the duty … of any minister to do what the majority of Italians have asked of him and defend the laws and borders of the nation,” tweeted Giorgia Meloni, who heads the Brothers of Italy party along with a photograph of herself posing with Salvini.
In February, the upper house Senate voted to strip Salvini’s parliamentary immunity and permit magistrates to press charges. If found guilty, Salvini will have to step down as a senator.