Prosecutors in Palermo have requested a six-year prison term for Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister, over his role in the 2019 migrant vessel standoff.
The incident involved a ship carrying over 100 migrants being stranded at sea for 19 days after Salvini, then interior minister, refused to allow it to dock in Italy.
According to Sky News, prosecutors allege that Salvini’s actions constituted kidnapping, and have asked judges to deliver a guilty verdict and impose the six-year sentence.
In 2019, Salvini’s refusal to allow the Open Arms charity vessel to dock led to a 19-day standoff in the Mediterranean, sparking an ‘extreme humanitarian emergency’ on board.
Desperate passengers resorted to jumping into the sea, while others remained stranded. Ultimately, 89 people were permitted to disembark in Lampedusa after a court intervention.
Salvini, leader of Italy’s right-wing League party, now faces prosecution for alleged kidnapping and could be barred from holding public office if convicted.
The trial continues, with Salvini’s defense team presenting its case in mid-October. A verdict is expected weeks later, potentially marking a significant turning point in Italy’s migration policy debate.
In Italy’s judicial system, a conviction is only considered final after completing a three-stage process. Therefore, any potential verdict against Matteo Salvini will undergo further review.
A senior judge will ultimately render the final decision, ensuring multiple layers of scrutiny.
Salvini maintains his innocence, denying any wrongdoing in the 2019 migrant vessel standoff case.
“I would do it all again: defending borders from illegal immigrants is not a crime,” he said.
During his 14-month tenure as Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Salvini adopted a tough stance on migration, blocking multiple vessels from docking in Italian ports.
Salvini alleged that migrant rescue charities were complicit in people smuggling, exacerbating the crisis.
Currently, Salvini serves as transport minister in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government, continuing to shape Italy’s policies.
Offering her full support to Salvini, Meloni wrote on social media: “It is incredible that a minister of the Italian Republic risks six years in prison for doing his job of defending the nation’s borders, as required by the mandate received from the citizens.
“My total solidarity with minister Salvini”.
Open Arms, which is based in Spain, wrote on its X account that it “expects justice”.
It said, “One of the last hearings in the trial against Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, accused of kidnapping and denying official acts and of having prevented the disembarkation of 147 people for 20 days in August 2019, was held today in Palermo.
“Following today’s presentation in Palermo by the public prosecutor’s office, in which they reconstructed those dramatic days, the policies of the government in which Salvini was a minister and the regulatory framework, the prosecutors have requested a sentence of six years in prison.
“During the hearing, the 147 people who were rescued were remembered and the impossibility of attending the hearing because “you have to be lucky if you are a victim.”
“On October 18th, it will be the turn of the current Minister of Transport to speak in defence.”
Sahara Reporters
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