Demand a 6-year prison sentence for Italy's deputy prime minister who refused to stop the migrant boat

The ship, operated by the Open Arms charity, was kept at sea for nearly three weeks. The ship was landed on the island of Lampedusa after a court order.

Salvini, who was the Home Minister at the time, has been the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been denying the charges of kidnapping and dereliction of duty. He said that he wanted to prevent Italy from becoming a refugee camp for the whole of Europe and said that he was declared guilty for protecting Italy and Italians.

After being denied landing in Lampedusa, 147 migrants carried by the Open Arms ship were landed on the coast of Libya . The island, halfway across the Mediterranean towards the Italian mainland, has become a hub for thousands of migrants entering Europe in recent years.

Salvini says that as the interior minister, he took the policy of closing the ports to discourage human traffickers. But the crew members said during the hearing that because the ship was not allowed to land, the migrants had health problems. Prosecutor Gerry Ferrara said that human rights issues should be prioritized in the Sicilian court in a democratic system.

It is said that the verdict of the trial which started in October 2021 may come next month . If found guilty, Salvini can be barred from holding government positions.

Salvini wrote on the social network X in the process of the punishment demanded against him, "Defending Italy is not a crime". I will not give up, not now, not ever .' He claims that the actions of the Italian government have reduced landings, deaths and disappearances in the Mediterranean.

'This Spanish The ship was not stopped from going anywhere except Italy. We can no longer become a refugee camp for the whole of Europe," he said. "In history, no government and no minister has been prosecuted for protecting the borders of their own country." has reached 71 . Which is very less than the previous year .

Salvini is the head of the Northern League party, which opposes illegal immigration. Prime Minister Georgia Maloney's Five Star Movement is running a coalition government with the Northern League.

Prime Minister Meloni has said that he is in favor of Salvini . "It is unbelievable that a minister of the Italian Republic is at risk of 6 years in prison for protecting the nation's borders according to the mandate received from the citizens," she wrote in X, "turning the duty to protect Italy's borders from illegal immigration into a crime is a very serious precedent." -break