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Update
The trial of the leader of the Italian far-right, Matteo Salvini, begins Saturday, October 23 in Palermo. He is accused of kidnapping people and abuse of power, for having blocked an NGO ship in August 2019, sheltering nearly 150 migrants.
Matteo Salvini’s trial opens on Saturday, October 23 in Palermo (Italy), in a high security prison, a classic device in Sicily for sensitive cases. The facts date back to August 2019. For two weeks, the vessel of the Open Arms association remained stranded off the island of Lampedusa with 149 men and women on board crushed by the heat. The health situation is catastrophic. Some migrants jump into the water, as a sign of desperation.
Matteo Salvini, then Minister of the Interior, did everything to delay the reception of migrants, which will ultimately be ordered by justice. For the civil parties, he knowingly endangered the lives of these men and women. “Saving lives at sea is not an option, it is an absolute obligation. Not just for the captain, but also for the States“, comments Oscar Camts, director of Open Arms. Matteo Salvini held a press conference on Friday October 22.”I am at ease because I have served my country. It was my duty as Minister of the Interior to defend Italy’s borders, dignity and security“, he declared. He faces up to 15 years in prison.