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AFP
The migratory ship was unable to dock at Lampedusa
The Italian Senate voted to allow the prosecution of former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini for blocking a migrant ship off the coast of Italy last August.
More than 100 migrants were trapped in the Spanish rescue ship Open Arms for 19 days off the island of Lampedusa.
Prosecutors in Sicily charge Salvini with illegal detention, which could carry a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
The right-wing anti-immigration politician is now ready to stand trial in a similar case.
The Senate voted 149-141 to strip him of his parliamentary immunity in the latter case, paving the way for prosecution.
Salvini, 47, insists that preventing irregular immigrants from landing in Italy was a government policy at the time.
“Defending Italy is not a crime. I am proud of it, I would do it again and I will do it again,” he said Wednesday.
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EPA
Matteo Salvini is trying to organize a political return
His blockade of the ship caused a protest and a serious split in the coalition government at the time. His League party was in a coalition with the Anti-establishment Five Star, but is now a member of the opposition.
Opinion polls suggest the League’s popularity has plummeted during the coronavirus crisis, though a Demopolis poll this week showed it to still be the top party, at 25.4%, followed by the Democratic Party (PD) center left with 21%.
Restrictions of the coronavirus have prevented Salvini from holding rallies across the country or posing for selfies on the beach, campaign tactics that have drawn him to many Italians. His popularity is fueled by the prolific use of social media, in which he condemns the influx of migrants from North Africa.
In February, the Senate voted to strip him of his parliamentary immunity in a similar case, which involves the Italian coastguard ship, Gregoretti.
The court’s opening hearing in that case was postponed until October 3 due to coronavirus restrictions.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte had called Salvini “obsessed” with keeping immigrants out of Italian ports.
All parties in his ruling coalition voted Thursday to lift Salvini’s immunity.
Mr. Salvini defiantly tweeted Thursday: “By sending me to trial they are giving me a great gift, but unlike the others, I go there with my head up and my back straight.”
Last summer, Open Arms filed a legal complaint against Salvini’s blockade on his ship, and finally, on August 20, authorities allowed him to dock at Lampedusa, a small island off Tunisia that has struggled for years to deal with immigrant cargoes by boat.
By then, many of the migrants had already been authorized to leave the ship.
