Rome, 14 September 2024 – “We will read one by one the names of the 147 offended people to remember them in their individuality, because it is also for each of these people that we are about to ask for the conviction of the accused, as well as to defend the borders. But the boundaries of law…For these reasons, we ask that the defendant be convicted. to a sentence of six years in prisonin addition to the accessory penalties“It is 5.23 pm when the Deputy Prosecutor of Palermo, Marzia Sabella, pronounces in the bunker courtroom of the Pagliarelli prison in Palermo, the request for a conviction for the deputy prime minister, deliberately closing the prosecution with a phrase often quoted by the leader of the League Matteo Salvini on the “defense of the borders“. But the prosecutor transforms it and speaks of the “boundaries of law”.
What is Salvini accused of?
The request for Salvini’s conviction comes after more than seven hours of discussion, accused of kidnapping and refusal to perform official duties for having preventedin August 2019, the landing of the ship of the Spanish NGO Open Arms, which had rescued 147 migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. The 147 “offended persons” mentioned by the accusation. For Salvini “it is madness to ask for a conviction for the defense of the borders“.
A lengthy discussion in which Deputy Prosecutor Marzia Sabella, with prosecutors Calogero Ferrara and Giorgia Righi, retraced, moment by moment, everything that happened from August 1st to 21st 2019. With a single common denominator: “Human rights come before border defense“, as Sabella repeatedly reiterates. For the Palermo Prosecutor’s Office, not granting safe harbor to migrants was a “criminal process”.
Open Arms-Salvini, the prosecution’s thesis
Here are the words of the deputy prosecutor Sabella: “You cannot invoke the defense of borders without taking into account the protection of human life at sea“. Not only that. According to the prosecution, “the positions and choices of Minister Matteo Salvini gave rise to institutional chaos, a situation that would have led to the preparation of makeshift solutions. The Coast Guard found itself in a situation of extreme difficulty, as it could not put pressure on a ministry that did not depend on it”. But they are keen to reiterate that this “is not a political process, but rather based on administrative acts”.
Salvini: “I plead guilty to having defended Italy”
“Never in history has any government or minister been accused and tried for defending the borders of their country. Article 52 of the Italian Constitution states that the defense of the homeland is a sacred duty of the citizen“. Matteo Salvini, in a video on social media, after the prosecutor’s request to sentence him to 6 years in prison, retraces the steps of the story of the landing of the Open Arms with 147 migrants on board in August 2019, when he was Minister of the Interior. Then, at the end of the video, he solemnly says: “I plead guilty to having defended Italy and the Italians, I plead guilty to having kept my word.”
Meloni: “A very serious precedent”
“It is incredible that a Minister of the Italian Republic risks 6 years in prison for having carried out his job by defending the borders of the Nation, as required by the mandate received from the citizens. Transforming the duty to protect Italian borders from illegal immigration into a crime is a very serious precedent. My total solidarity with Minister Salvini“. Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister, wrote this on social media.
Di Maio: “What I had to say, I told the judges”
“I have already told the judges what I had to say when I was heard, now I do not intend to say anything else.“. Cuts short with AdnKronos, Louis DiMaiodeputy prime minister of the Conte I government, preferring not to comment on the request for a six-year prison sentence for Matteo Salvini, for the events on the Open Arms ship. During the trial, in recent months, former Five Star member Luigi Di Maio had distanced himself from Salvini’s choices: “There was no discussion with him – he told investigators -. The only contacts concerned the government crisis that was then underway, while blocking the ship was his political propaganda choice.“.
The right united in expressing solidarity
“I repeat what I said this morning: Salvini did his duty as Minister of the Interior to defend legality. Asking for 6 years in prison for this reason seems an unreasonable choice and moreover without any legal basis“. The deputy prime minister and number one of the blue party wrote this on X, Antonio Tajani.
“Full and total solidarity with Minister Salvini. The risk of a six-year prison sentence, for having fully done his duty in the fight against irregular immigration, is an evident and macroscopic distortion and an injustice for him and for our country”. This was declared by the Minister of the Interior, Matthew Piantedosifollowing the request by the Palermo Prosecutor’s Office for a 6-year sentence for Minister Salvini.
“I express my full and affectionate solidarity with my colleague Salvini regarding the trial. Its origin and characteristics bring me back to the many articles I wrote on the subject before becoming minister.“. Thus the Minister of Justice, Charles Nordioon the sidelines of the Frecce Tricolori demonstration in Jesolo.
“As a statesman and with deep respect for the institutions, I express my solidarity with Minister Matteo Salvini for the difficult legal issues he is facing. I am convinced that political and administrative action must always be guided by the protection of the country’s interests and by respect for the law. At the same time, I have full confidence in the work of the judiciary and in our state system, which has all the necessary tools to produce a fair decision, capable of clarifying the good faith and evident legitimacy of the intentions that guided Minister Salvini’s actions. I am certain that his conduct, clearly aimed at defending the national interest, will be recognized as compliant with the law and the spirit of democratic institutions.“. Thus the General Roberto VannacciMEP of the League.
“I express my full support and solidarity to Minister Salvini, certain that justice will take its course without giving in to distorted interpretations of the law”. This was stated by the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigidato then underline: “It is inconceivable that a Minister of the Republic should be prosecuted for having exercised his institutional duty to defend national borders and the security of Italians“.
Opposition on the warpath
“It is not true that Salvini’s trial is a trial of Italy. And it is not true that it is a political trial. Salvini held 147 people hostage on a ship for days, in violation of all international conventions, just to prevent them from disembarking on Italian soil”. He wrote it on Facebook Nicholas Fratoianni of the Green Left Alliance. “He used 147 lives, with a ruthless cynical calculation – continues the leader of SI – to try to force European countries to rescue at sea and to welcome. I remember that period well. I was on NGO ships, in the Mediterranean, to see with my own eyes the absence of the State, while the hands in the sea ask for help after a shipwreck“.
“I remember the hatred that fell on anyone who tried to scratch the toxic and evil narrative of Salvini and his followers. We were the do-gooders. As if being good and supportive was a crime. Today Salvini is on trial for what we already defined in those days as a real kidnapping. But instead of defending himself in the trial – concludes Fratoianni – he is trying as always to stir things up and discredit the judiciary“.
“You do not defend your national borders by holding 147 people, including women and children, captive in the open sea, violating all international conventions, starting with those on the sea and human rights. We will see what the court will decide regarding the request for a 6-year sentence for Salvini advanced by the prosecutor, but one thing is certain: when he was minister, Salvini used the human drama of migrants, who unfortunately died by the thousands in the Mediterranean Sea, for mere electoral calculation. Today, Salvini should avoid playing the victim, because the ministers of the Republic must be irreproachable in respecting national laws and international norms. What happened with the Open Arms, regardless of what the court’s decision will be, has represented a shameful page for our country. You do not make electoral calculations on the drama and desperation of shipwrecked people trying to save themselves“. Thus in a note the AVS deputy and national spokesperson of Europa Verde Angel Bonelli.
“Even a minister must respect the law, including Salvini. The very harsh indictment of the Palermo prosecutor, who asked for a 6-year sentence, reminds us that respect for human rights comes before the alleged defense of borders and that lives at sea are always saved, even during a war. Salvini, by trying to close the ports, has tried for years to blackmail the EU. Not to mention the repercussions this has had, including those on the bodies of the State. He has done everything to dehumanize migrants, making them scapegoats for any problem, fueling people’s fears and basest instincts. He has speculated and speculates on this for electoral and power purposes. But even a minister must answer to the law, the Constitution and international law“. He declares it Laura Boldrini PD member of parliament and President of the Permanent Committee of the Chamber on human rights in the world. (source: Adnkronos, photo: Facebook Matteo Salvini).
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