Italy: "I only did my duty", says Salvini at the Open Arms trial
Matteo Salvini, on January 27 in the Parliament of Rome, during the presidential election.
AFP - REMO CASILLI
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
The leader of the far-right Italian League is on trial for stranding migrants at sea in August 2019, when he was interior minister.
Accompanied by his lawyer, Matteo Salvini attended the second hearing of the trial, in the bunker room of Ucciardone prison, in Palermo.
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With our correspondent in Rome,
Anne Le Nir
In this case, which concerns the ship of the NGO Open Arms, Matteo Salvini is accused of sequestration of people and abuse of power, after having prohibited, for 19 days in 2019, the disembarkation of 147 migrants rescued at sea. such offences, the former minister faces a sentence of 15 years in prison.
We remember from the hearing especially the testimonies of the health personnel who were able to observe the conditions in which the migrants were on board the NGO ship.
For doctor Vincenzo Asaro, all seemed "
very tried
".
“
Even today,
he underlined,
I do not understand how anyone could say that they could stay on this boat
”.
►Listen also: Trial of Matteo Salvini in Palermo, the "duty" of the civil parties
For her part, the psychologist Christina Camilleri recalled how much the migrants were afraid of being brought back to Libya, "
where some had been tortured, as evidenced by wounds on their bodies
".
So many memories that do not seem to have troubled the former Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini.
“
Me, I only did my duty, and therefore I am not concerned about this trial.
If not for the time wasted, and the money it costs the Italian taxpayer
”.
For his part, the captain of the ship, Marc Reig Creus, said he hoped that Italian justice would demonstrate that "
the rights of migrants must not be flouted in the name of political interests
".
► Listen again: Matteo Salvini summoned to court, an unfair trial for his supporters
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Italy
Matteo Salvini