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ER Editor: Salvini was interior minister back in the summer of 2019 when, as a matter of government policy, he prevented the disembarkation of 147 migrants from a Spanish NGO ship, Open Arms, which had rescued the migrants in Maltese waters. He was then charged with kidnapping and refusal to perform public acts.
We’ve heard on backchannels that Salvini is a white hat.
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Salvini Acquitted of All Charges in Open Arms Case
Prime Minister Meloni celebrated the decision saying “a Minister who defends Italy’s borders is not committing a crime, but is carrying out his duty.”
ZOLTA GYORI for EUROPEAN CONSERVATIVE
Italy’s center-right political forces welcomed a Supreme Court ruling that definitively acquitted Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini in the Open Arms case, rejecting a per saltum appeal filed by the Palermo Prosecutor’s Office. After several hours of deliberation, the justices upheld the first-instance acquittal, bringing the case to a close.
Salvini reacted on social media following the decision, stating: “Defending the borders is not a crime.”
The case dates back to 2019, when Salvini, then serving as Interior Minister, denied for several days the disembarkation of 147 migrants aboard a Spanish NGO vessel. Oscar Camps, founder of the Spanish NGO involved in the case, commented: “It’s not a technical decision, but a political one.”
Right-wing leaders Geert Wilders, Marine Le Pen and Viktor Orbán expressed public support for the Lega leader after Palermo prosecutors filed an appeal to overturn his acquittal in the ‘Open Arms’ migrant case in July.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also commented publicly, describing the ruling as “good news” and adding: “Matteo Salvini’s definitive acquittal in the Open Arms case is good news and confirms a simple and fundamental principle: a Minister who defends Italy’s borders is not committing a crime, but is carrying out his duty. Go Matteo.”
In the Senate, Meloni called for applause in response to the verdict, saying: “I would like to begin these very brief replies by asking for applause for Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s acquittal on the unfounded charge of kidnapping and for the definitive affirmation of the principle that an Interior Minister who defends Italy’s borders is doing his job and nothing more.”
Salvini’s defense attorney, Giulia Bongiorno, expressed satisfaction with the outcome. “The word satisfaction expresses what I feel right now. This is a trial that shouldn’t have even begun, and this definitive solution underscores what I argued in court,” she said.
Courts across Europe are trying to punish conservative politicians for making common sense decisions. This time, ultimately, justice prevailed. But politically motivated trials have been running rampant in Italy, since the judicial system has been untouched by reform for ages. Prime Minister Meloni took it upon herself to make the country’s court system less political, creating a court system that does not pose as the invincible vanguard of liberal ideology.
Zolta Győri is a journalist at europeanconservative.com.
Source
Featured image source, Open Arms: https://en.ilsole24ore.com/art/open-arms-judges-italy-was-not-obliged-to-assign-safe-harbour-AHQ5nLKB
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