Salvini wants to join his trial as a martyr

In the coming days, Catania in Sicily will be at the center of Italian domestic politics, as this is where Matteo Salvini’s preliminary hearing begins on Saturday. They want to hold the leader of the League responsible because last summer, even as Minister of the Interior, he prevented the mooring of the Italian Coast Guard warship Bruno Gregoretti. There were 131 people on board, evacuated from the sea and wasted five days off the coast of Sicily before they could finally land. Salvini has been accused, among other things, of violating personal freedoms and international conventions. Since he was a member of the government when the incident occurred, his case is being examined by a special body, the Ministerial Court. You can receive up to 15 years in prison.

Salvini, before conspiring to leave the government due to some bad decisions, even announced a policy of “closed ports” as Minister of the Interior, according to which Italy has no obligation to receive refugees from the sea. After that, Salvini repeatedly prevented the mooring of ships rescuing those in distress at sea. One of those cases, what happened on the Gregoretti warship, is now being prosecuted.

The first famous case took place in 2018, when Salvini banned the mooring of the warship Diciotti carrying 177 refugees on board, despite having been previously authorized by then-Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Danilo Toninelli. Another case, the Dutch Sea Watch 3 affair, received great publicity, in part thanks to the ship’s warrior and relentless German captain, Carola Rackete, whom Salvini tried to demonize at a very low level on her social sites and in the friendly press. of the government.

He also sued Racket and then promptly kicked him out of the country citing the security law. The latter was one of the most important milestones in Salvini’s immigration policy, since, according to the law, practically anyone who has taken illegal immigrants out of the sea can be held accountable. Salvin was already wanted to be held responsible for obstructing Diciotti’s mooring, but the prosecution eventually dropped the prosecution. However, in July this year, the Senate also decided that criminal proceedings could also be initiated against the former Interior Minister for the ordeal of a rescue ship by a Spanish aid organization called Open Arms. The ship lost almost three weeks at sea last August and ended up in Spain.

The Gregoretti case, which will be heard on October 3, took place last summer, and the Senate decided in February of this year to suspend Salvini’s immunity. On July 25, 2019, a Coast Guard ship rescued 131 refugees near Malta who set sail from Libya to Europe. The Coast Guard ship landed for the first time in Catania, where an eight-month pregnant woman landed. They then set sail for Augusta, also Sicily, but Salvini prevented them from mooring, despite the fact that the ship was not suitable to accommodate so many people on board at the same time. He only allowed them to be moored after Germany, France, Portugal, Luxembourg and Ireland also volunteered to accommodate smaller groups. Salvini used these cases to blackmail the union into making a better contribution to the reception of immigrants who, by the way, reached him anyway.

Salvini had previously argued that he had acted in the same way in the Gregoretti case as in the Diciotti case: he had informed members of the government of his decision, they knew what was happening, and the entire port policy, led by the first Minister Giuseppe Conte. With Star’s consent. Therefore, he believes that, as with Diciotti, there is now no basis for an investigation against him, and that the court and the Senate should treat both cases in the same way. However, the Five Stars claim that in Gregoretti’s case, Salvini did not cooperate with the government.

The leader of the League does not consider himself guilty and seems to want to use the proceedings against him for political gain. Although the great advance of the extreme right did not materialize in the last provincial elections, he could hope that his “drag” could bring him more believers. His party has built a great campaign around the audience in Catania, Salvini is accompanied to Catania by all the important people of the League, and even by the leaders of the allied parties, including Giorgia Meloni, president of the Italian brothers (Fratelli d’Italia), responsible for Forza Italia. They are carried out with a series of events of several days, with meetings and encounters.

The League has been working on this campaign for a long time, successfully building the slogan with which supporters can express their solidarity: “Put me to justice too!” – can be read on posters, t-shirts and balloons. La Liga and Salvini try to suggest that in fact now, in Catania, it is decided whether the Italian nation remains free, because if Salvini is found guilty, he will be punished for defending the Italian people.

“On October 3, Catania will be for me the European capital of freedom. Freedom of opinion and expression, ”Salvini said on a morning show. “I have fulfilled my duty not only as a minister, but also as an Italian citizen.”

In Catania, the city administration and the police are preparing with great forces and great closures, as the League and its allies, as well as anti-Salvini activists, are preparing various demonstrations. In front of the Catania airport, a banner has already been hung on which it is written, reluctant to see the leagues. The inscription to Never with salvin (Mai with Salvini) who are preparing a lot for the next few days.