Salvini faces the preliminary hearing of trial for kidnapping of migrants

• February: The Senate withdraws the immunity of Matteo Salvini to be prosecuted for his immigration management

The former Italian Interior Minister and leader of the League, Matteo Salvini, has appeared today at the Court of Catania, in Sicily, for the preliminary hearing of the process in which he is accused of kidnapping people, blocking for five days to migrants aboard

the Coast Guard

ship

.

In view of the process, Salvini organized three days of rallies in Sicily and called on all center-right parliamentarians to support him.

Just before entering the Tribunal, he had a coffee with the other leaders of the right,

from Fratelli di Italia and

from Forza Italia, who came to the Sicilian city to show their support.

"We are living in a moment of suspension of democracy. My trial is a violation of the Constitution. I never thought I would go to court, but I am not ashamed," Salvini said last night at the last rally organized in the port of Catania.

"He is our solid ally. But also and above all we defend a sacrosanct principle: a minister who does what the majority of Italians have asked him, cannot be judged for that," said Meloni.

Catania woke up armored

Catania woke up armored to avoid contacts between those who will demonstrate today against the former minister and his co-religionists.

Salvini has explained that he will decide only at the last moment whether to make a statement in the process, which is held behind closed doors.

As a civil party, the only migrant family who was on board the Gregoretti ship and who stayed in Sicily, the Nigerians

and their three children, one of them born shortly after the landing, will present themselves.

At this hearing, the preliminary hearing judge will have to decide after hearing all the parties and receiving the evidence whether to open the oral trial or to archive the case.

This view has come after last February, the Senate approved the withdrawal of Salvini's immunity, by express decision of the former minister who encouraged the senators of his party to vote in favor.

The events refer to when from July 27 to 31, 2019, Salvini blocked the ship

, which had

, as a result of two different rescue operations carried out by the Italian authorities in Maltese waters at the request of La Valletta.

Salvini argues that the same mechanism was also applied in several subsequent episodes, when he was no longer Interior, as in the case of the ship "Ocean Viking", which remained at sea from October 18 to 29, 2019 before the granting of a landing port in Italy, waiting for Paris, Berlin and Rome to find a solution.

In addition, Salvini strongly rejects the possibility of a kidnapping also because "there has been no illegal deprivation of personal liberty, pending the organization of his transfer to his final destination."

The Catania Court of Ministers explained in its request for process that the rules contained in the Security Decree approved by the Salvini Government that imposed the blockade of rescued migrant boats could not be applied to military vessels.

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