In 2019, migrants had to wait on a ship off Lampedusa for weeks. Italy's then Interior Minister Salvini had banned an aid organization from heading to the port. He was later charged – and now acquitted.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has been acquitted in the trial over the handling of migrants on the Mediterranean. This was announced by a court in Palermo, Sicily.
The trial was about the fact that the chairman of the right-wing national government party Lega, during his time as Interior Minister in 2019, is said to have prevented an aid organization's ship with refugees from entering a port for weeks.
accusation of Deprivation of liberty
The public prosecutor's office had demanded a six-year prison sentence for Salvini and viewed his behavior at the time as deprivation of liberty and abuse of office.
The ship belonging to the Spanish organization “Open Arms” was docked in Lampedusa with more than 160 migrants, but was not allowed to enter the port. People jumped into the water and tried to swim to land. The ship was confiscated after three weeks so that it could dock.
