Open Arms.The prosecutor's office asked for six years in prison for Matteo Salvini

Matteo Salvini is on trial for having closed the ports to the Open Arms ship in 2019.The prosecutor's office is asking for six years in prison.

• In 2019, the then Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini prevented the migrants saved by the Open Arms from disembarking on Lampedusa.
• For that refusal Salvini ended up on trial in 2021, also because the court of ministers denied him immunity.
• The prosecutor's office asked for six years in prison.In October it will be the defense's turn to speak.

Matteo Salvini risks six years in prison for kidnapping and refusal of official acts.The request came from procura of Palermo, which expressed its opinion in the context of the trial against the current deputy prime minister, who in 2019 as Minister of the Interior he prevented the NGO's ship Open Arms to dock in Lampedusa.

The vessel, which he had rescued 147 migrant people (including several minors) in the Mediterranean Sea, had asked to be able to dock in Lampedusa but Minister Salvini prevented him, appealing to the safety decrees recently approved.The intervention of the Lazio Regional Administrative Court allowed the disembarkation of the migrants, but in 2021 Salvini was sent to trial for that episode.Now the first request for conviction has arrived.

A recap of the Salvini-Open Arms case

In August of 2019 the ship of the non-governmental organization Open Arms had accomplished several rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea, saving 147 people.At that point he asked for the opportunity to enter Italian territorial waters to disembark these people, but by the then Minister of the Interior of the yellow-green government, Matteo Salvini, came a firm no.

Salvini pivoted safety decrees recently approved and of which he himself had promoted, a package that left him with ample space discretion in the so-called opening and closing of ports, often in conflict with the international law.At that point Il intervened TAR of Lazio, after a specific reminder of the Open Arms, which annulled the effects of the security decrees and allowed the humanitarian ship to enter Italian territorial waters.

Salvini signed another ban, this time on docking at the port of Lampedusa.However, the Agrigento prosecutor's office authorized the disembarkation of the ship and the landing of the people remaining on board (dozens had already disembarked because they were minors, because they were ill or because they had thrown themselves into the sea) and the affair ended after 18 long days.

Asked for six years in prison

After disembarking the prosecutor's office of Agrigento opened an investigation against unknown persons for kidnapping, plus another for omission and refusal of official acts.And in 2021 Matteo Salvini, who in the meantime ended up in the opposition, was sent to trial, after the Palermo ministerial court had given authorization to proceed against him, denying him theimmunity. 

Now the Palermo prosecutor's office has asked six years in prison for Salvini, who in the meantime has returned to government as deputy prime minister and minister of Infrastructure and Transport.Prosecutor Marzia Sebella he underlined that the denial of entry into Italian territorial waters and the denial of disembarkation "impaired the freedom of each of the 147 people and there was no reason" and that according to the international law “the migrants needed to be helped, immediately granting a safe haven”. 

Matteo Salvini reacted to the prosecutor's request with a video in which he reconstructs his actions, where, however, as highlighted the fact-checking site Political report card, there are several errors.From the prime minister Giorgia Meloni to the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi, the government gave solidarity to Salvini, talking about a political trial.The October 18th it will be the turn of the deputy prime minister's defense speech, led by the lawyer Giulia Bongiorno, who is also a senator of the League.