Italy, whose mayors in various Italian towns and cities have announced their willingness to receive and resettle homeless Ukrainians, is the same Italy in which a former small-town mayor is battling a 13-year prison sentence for opening the gates of his town to hundreds of refugees from Africa and the Middle East.
Domenico Lucano, who served as mayor of Riace - a small village of about 2,000 people in southern Italy - between 2004 and 2018, worked during his tenure to help, welcome and settle 450 refugees from Africa and the Middle East in the small town.
Riacey model
The US website, The Intercept, said that Italy hosts the largest number of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war in Europe.
After decades of post-war population emigration as young Italians moved away, what has come to be known as the "Riace model" has become a famous example of multi-ethnic integration and renewed city life, but strong right-wing elements in the Italian government are responsible for toughening anti-immigrant policies in the country and in The whole of Europe - such as the former Italian Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini - considered what happened in that small Italian town intolerable.
Lucano was placed under house arrest in 2018, with public funding for his programs cut off, and a series of bogus charges brought against him.
Last September, he was convicted of fraud, embezzlement and incitement to "illegal" immigration.
In addition to an exaggerated prison sentence of up to 13 years - almost double what prosecutors initially called for - Lucano faces fines of more than half a million euros.
He has announced his plans to appeal, but it is a process that he expects to take a year.
Mayors of various Italian cities and municipalities announced their readiness to receive and resettle displaced Ukrainians (Reuters)
Campaign to absolve the mayor
On Monday, a coalition led by the left-wing progressive organization Progressive International launched a campaign calling for the ex-mayor to be acquitted, for all charges to be dropped, and for an investigation by the European Court of Justice and relevant Italian authorities into the reasons for the original indictment. .
The Intercept report sees this case as a "fascist attempt" to criminalize anyone who threatens Europe's "racist" border system.
The small town of Riace has, as Lucano said in a statement, "over the past 14 years, has become a beacon of hope for those underprivileged living in Italy and a source of inspiration for cities of sanctuary around the world."
"We have been persecuted for these clemency crimes under the banner of 'Italians first,'" he added, "and the forces of apostasy have targeted our town and the model of hospitality that we have promoted for more than a decade."
The American site notes that there is little doubt about the "political nature" of the accusations and convictions against Lucano and the severity of the punishment inflicted on him, and that it was no coincidence that he was arrested just one week after Salvini announced a series of brutal anti-immigration measures, including Cut back on funds such as Lucano's integration efforts.