The Italian Senate on Wednesday brought to justice Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far right, accused of kidnapping people for having blocked a boat of migrants off Sicily when he was Minister of the Interior. The result of the vote will be officially announced in the evening, but the electronic board seen by several AFP journalists, indicating for a few seconds the result of the poll, made it possible to clearly establish his referral to justice, confirmed by all the Italian media. .
The former Minister of the Interior is accused of having blocked 116 migrants for several days on board an Italian coast guard vessel. In the event of a trial, he would face 15 years' imprisonment.
Salvini "proudly claims" what he did
In his intervention before the vote, Matteo Salvini "proudly claimed" his action as a minister. "I will not go to this courtroom to defend myself, I will go to proudly claim what I have done," he said to the senators, reiterating that it was his "duty" to defend. the borders of the country when he was Minister of the Interior.
He mixed irony with his opponents and invoked his children, as he often does. "My two children have the right to know that if their father was often away from home, it was not to kidnap people but to defend the country's borders and security," he said. "The adversaries must be beaten in the ballot boxes, not in the courts", also launched the sovereignist chief who built on the fight against immigration his rise and that of his party that the polls give about 30% of intentions voting system, the first in Italy.
Migrants could not disembark due to lack of authorization from Salvini
A court in Catania (Sicily) accuses Matteo Salvini of "abuse of power and forcible confinement of people" for having blocked 116 migrants last summer for several days on board an Italian coast guard vessel, the Gregoretti. In the event of a trial, he would face 15 years' imprisonment. On July 25, 2019, the day more than 110 people disappeared in a shipwreck off Libya, the military ship Gregoretti had taken on board 140 migrants, who had left the Libyan coast a few days earlier on two boats and were rescued by guards. Italian coasts.
Migrants could have been evacuated for medical reasons but 116 others remained on the ship for almost a week, for lack of authorization to disembark from Matteo Salvini, then Minister of the Interior of a government formed by the League (his party ) and the anti-establishment of the 5 Star Movement (M5S).