The News
Italian prosecutors have sought a six-year prison sentence for Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, after he was charged with kidnapping over his decision in 2019 to bar a rescue ship carrying more than 100 migrants from landing in Italy while he was interior minister.
Salvini, a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right party and the current transport minister, posted Saturday: “Defending Italy is not a crime and I will not give up — not now, not ever.” A conviction, which in Italy is definitive only at the end of a three-stage judicial process, could bar Salvini from holding office.
It’s the latest political hurdle for Meloni, who has relentlessly pushed an anti-immigration campaign since taking office in 2022. She has expressed her solidarity with Salvini, however, her coalition is currently split after its center-right faction proposed amending immigration laws to make it easier for foreign nationals to obtain Italian citizenship, and could fracture further if Salvini is convicted.