Italian politician Matteo Salvini has mocked a trial against him for preventing a migrant ship to land in 2019, which he said was facilitating illegal immigration.
Before the trial, Salvini posted a tweet ridiculing the proceedings.
“The trial wanted by the Left and by the fans of illegal immigration begins: how much will it cost the Italian citizens?” he tweeted.
Qui Aula di Giustizia del carcere di Palermo. Il processo voluto dalla sinistra e dai tifosi dell’immigrazione clandestina comincia: quanto costerà ai cittadini italiani? pic.twitter.com/LKUUjLSOFD
— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) October 23, 2021
Salvini, who is leader of the right-wing League party, served as Italian Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister from 2018 to 2019.
During this period, a Spanish NGO ship, the Open Arms, attempted to dock in Italy with 147 migrants on board. Salvini insisted that the ship did not have permission to disembark and denied it access to the Italian port, leaving its passengers at sea for almost three weeks.
For this he has been accused by prosecutors of “kidnapping,” as those onboard were refused entry to Italy.
Salvini, however, insists that he was simply defending Italian borders against illegal immigration.
“It is surreal undergoing a trial because I did my job,” he said.
He also mocked the presence of Hollywood actor Richard Gere as a key witness at the trial, as Gere was in Italy on holiday at the time and went to join with the NGO in question when he heard about the situation.
“I feel sorry because, I mean, tell me how serious can a trial be where Richard Gere comes from Hollywood to testify about how bad I am,” Salvini joked.
“I hope it lasts as short a time as possible because there are more important things to take care of.”
Salvini claims that he was protecting Italy with his “closed ports” policy, preventing illegal immigration and smuggling, and also saving migrant lives by stopping them from attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing.
During a 2019 speech, Salvini said: “The police of this government is reducing to zero the deaths in the Mediterranean. That is what we are doing, with pride and with Christian spirit.
“The policy of open doors and open ports, between 2015 and 2018, caused, according to UN figures, almost 15,000 dead and missing. Our policy of being strict and showing solidarity to those who deserve it has led to less than 1,000 victims in the Mediterranean. We are saving lives.”
Italy, which experiences high levels of illegal immigration due to its proximity to North Africa, has struggled to maintain the integrity of its borders in recent years.
Salvini previously explained his stance on immigration:
“Political asylum will be given to those who deserve it. People feeling war, people with serious illnesses, victims of sexual violence, God forbid, or victims of trafficking. For everyone else, the party is over.
“If an asylum seeker arrives in Italy and requests political asylum, and in the meantime deals drugs, strikes a police officer, mugs a pensioner or molests a child, they will be immediately summoned by the local prefecture and told, “My dear, you’re not a refugee, you’re a criminal,” and they’ll be put on the first plane, first boat, first pedalo, first hot air balloon, back home.”
He continued:
“Italian citizenship will be stripped from those found guilty of terrorism. Some geniuses on the Left say there will now be two tiers of citizenship. My friends, if somebody is guilty of Islamic terrorism, I’m taking their Italian citizenship, I won’t let them have it.”