6-year sentence demanded against Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini for blocking migrant ship

palermo - Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini is facing a 6-year prison sentence for blocking a migrant ship in 2019, with no regrets for his actions.

An Italian court has demanded a 6-year prison sentence against Matteo Salvini, the leader of the right-wing populist Lega party, for blocking a migrant rescue ship from reaching Italy in 2019. Salvini, who served as the Interior Minister at the time, prevented the Spanish NGO Open Arms vessel carrying 147 rescued refugees from docking in Italy. The refugees were stranded at sea for nearly three weeks before being allowed to disembark.

Although Salvini, known for his hardline stance against migration, defended his actions, a court ruled his policy violated international law, leading to the seizure of the ship and its forced entry into an Italian port.

Despite the legal consequences, Salvini remains unapologetic for his decision. "Facing a 6-year prison sentence for blocking the ship and defending Italy and the Italians? Absurdity," he wrote. "Protecting Italy is not a crime, and I will never give up."

The prosecutor argued that protecting borders should never override human rights, emphasizing the duty to rescue individuals at sea regardless of their status. Even smugglers or terrorists, under international law, must be rescued.

Currently part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government, Salvini's Lega party has witnessed a decline in support, with Meloni expressing full solidarity with her minister. "It's incredible that a minister of the Italian Republic faces a 6-year prison term for carrying out his duties of defending the country's borders," she stated.