Salvini after acquittal: I continue to fight against mass immigration!”

Salvini after acquittal: I continue to fight against mass immigration!”

The court ruling is causing a stir in right-wing conservative Italy: Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister and head of the Lega, was recently acquitted of serious allegations in Palermo. He was charged with abuse of office and false imprisonment in connection with the blockade of the refugee ship Open Arms in 2019. At that time, Salvini, as Interior Minister, blocked the rescue mission from entering the port of Lampedusa for almost three weeks while 147 migrants waited on board. The public prosecutor's office had demanded six years in prison for him, but the court decided otherwise and waived a sentence, which was celebrated with loud applause in the courtroom, reported krone.at.

Salvini remains combative

After the acquittal, Salvini expressed pride and declared, according to ze.it, that he would continue to fight resolutely against mass migration. “We have proven that the fight against mass immigration is not a crime,” he added. He received support from various political sides; Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, for example, congratulated X. Salvini, who is currently Minister of Transport, emphasized that he would continue to take tough action against illegal immigrants in the future. He only wanted to protect Italy's national borders and sees himself as an advocate of Italian security.

The controversies surrounding Salvini are not new. During his term as interior minister, he threatened to fine numerous aid organizations that tried to rescue refugees in the Mediterranean. Despite international offers to take in the migrants, he was adamant. After the verdict, he announced that he would pursue his line even more consistently. Salvini and the government of Giorgia Meloni represent a clear course against the rescue missions in the Mediterranean, which further tenses the political situation in Italy, as ze.it reported.