“Today is a historic day because we have gotten the former minister of the Interior de Italia Mateo Salvini sit in court to give explanations for its policy of blocking Open Arms “, said the Councilor for Citizen Rights and Participation of the Barcelona City Council, Marc Serra.
The mayor has commented in a statement to journalists the beginning of the trial against Salvini, of which he says that “put dozens of people’s lives at risk, castaways rescued from the sea that had been blocked for 20 days without offering them a safe port, as established by international law. “In addition, the councilor has stressed that” the worst of all is that he did it for electoral interests. ”
Serra explained that the Barcelona City Council had an agreement with the Open Arms Foundation to give them “financial support” but also “todiplomatic, logistical, institutional support and technical necessary in case unforeseen or obstacles arose during the development of a complex mission such as saving lives in the Mediterranean “.
“As City Council, we are part of the prosecution and we are going to request reparation for all the damage caused, not only to migrants, but also a reparation to the city of Barcelona, which was attacked by the former Minister of the Interior himself through false news, hate messages, “the councilor has advanced.
In addition, he added that they hope that “there is an economic reparation and a symbolic reparation“and that the trial serve as a” warning “to all European leaders that” you cannot play with international law and that the lives of migrants cannot be used for political gain. “For Serra, this trial has “an important message”, at a time “when we see how the extreme right has these constant temptations to play with the lives of migrants.”
The trial in Palermo (Sicily) against the former Italian Interior Minister and leader of the League, Matteo Salvini, for having prevented from disembarking for 19 days about a hundred migrants rescued in the central Mediterranean by the ship of the Spanish NGO Open Arms, begins this Saturday with the acceptance by the Court of the list of the testimonies of the parties.
After the suspension of what should be the first hearing on September 15 to find a larger classroom in the face of media interest and the large presence of civil parties and lawyers, the trial begins this Saturday at 9.30 a.m. (7.30 a.m. GMT) in the so-called “bunker classroom” of the Pagliarelli prison from Palermo.
During this first hearing, the Second Section of the Criminal Court of the Sicilian capital will decide whether or not to admit the various witnesses presented by the defense, prosecution and civil parties and will assess some documentation. Among the twenty witnesses that the prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi has already presented is the exprimer Minister Giuseppe Conte; the Minister of the Interior, Luciana Lamorgese; the Foreign Minister, Luigi Di Maio, and former Ministers Danilo Toninelli (Transport) and Elisabetta Trenta (Defense).
The prosecutor also asked to hear the commander of the Open Arms In that operation, Marc Reig, and the head of mission, Ana Isabel Montes Mier, while Salvini announced that in the list of witnesses presented there is also the actor Richard Gere, who has shown his support for the work of Open Arms.
Salvini’s lawyer, also Senator of the League, Giulia Buongiorno, has also asked to hear in addition to Conte and some former ministers, former European Commissioner for Migration, Interior and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos and former Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. During the preliminary process, the judge admitted that the municipalities of Palermo and Barcelona (Spain) were identified as victims, along with 21 others, including representatives of migrants and the founder of the NGO, Oscar Camps.
He faces a penalty of up to 15 years in jail
Salvini is accused of kidnapping people and breach of duties, which would carry a penalty of up to 15 years, when in August 2019 the then Italian Interior Minister applied his hard-fist policy against migration and closed ports and left about a hundred migrants 19 days waiting for a port.
During those days there were numerous evacuations of migrants due to health problems and a fight began between the judicial authorities and Salvini, who continued to oppose the landing. Faced with this refusal, the Spanish Executive ordered to enable the port of Algeciras and later that of Palma as a destination for the Open Arms, but the NGO rejected the offer because it considered it unfeasible to undertake another five days of crossing and insisted on docking in Lampedusa.
Finally, the prosecutor of Agrigento (Sicily), Luigi Patronaggio, responded to the NGO’s demand and ordered the landing, which took place on the night of August 20 and an investigation was opened to Salvini for abuse of power and kidnapping of people. Salvini, who will be present in Palermo, has always affirmed that in those days “he defended his country” but also that it was a collective decision of the entire Government formed by the League and the 5-Star Movement and headed by Giuseppe Conte.
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
