Prosecutors are seeking a six-year sentence for Italian Deputy Prime Minister Salvini

A verdict is anticipated on Friday in Matteo Salvini’s trial for dereliction of duty and abduction in connection with a 2019 migrant rescue incident.

A verdict is expected on Friday in the trial of Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who is accused of dereliction of duty and abduction for his refusal to allow a migrant rescue vessel to dock in Italy in 2019.

prosecutors in Sicily have proposed a six-year penitentiary sentence. If condemned, Salvini, the leader of the right-wing Lega party and an ally of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has declared that he will appeal.

Despite the accusations, he has consistently denied them, claiming that the judges are acting politically and that his sole offense was attempting to “protect Italy.”

Geri Ferrara, the prosecutor, contended in September that human rights must assume precedence over “state sovereignty.”

“A person who is stranded at sea must be rescued, regardless of whether they are classified as a migrant, a crewmember, or a passenger,” she declared.

The Italian island of Lampedusa was denied entry to the NGO ship Open Arms, which was transporting 147 migrants who had been rescued off the Libyan coast. This decision was made by Salvini, who was the interior minister at the time. The migrants on board experienced a substantial decline in their health as the vessel remained at sea for nearly three weeks.

Prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio ultimately ordered the ship’s preventive detention after observing the deteriorating conditions on board. Salvini said that the government of Giuseppe Conte supported his objective to “close the ports” of Italy to NGO rescue ships.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has expressed her support for Salvini, contending that the protection of Italy’s borders should not be criminalized. The suggestion that he should resign if found guilty has not been made by her, and Salvini has declared that he will not stand down. The trial and the impending verdict have been frequently referenced by Salvini in public addresses and social media postings.

Elly Schlein, the leader of the Democratic Party, a center-left opposition party, accused Salvini of “propaganda and fueling a serious institutional clash.”

On account of online harassment and threats, the three female prosecutors have been under police protection since September.

In support of Salvini, Lega party members are organizing demonstrations.

The Lega MEPs attended a European Parliament session in Strasbourg on Wednesday, donning t-shirts that read “Guilty of defending Italy,” a slogan that had previously been employed by Salvini.

The deputy secretary of Lega, Andrea Crippa, stated, “A conviction would be an extremely serious matter.” This would be equivalent to convicting the entire Italian populace, the Italian parliament, and the elected government.

Commentaries regarding the trial have also been issued by international figures. Elon Musk tweeted that the prosecutor should be imprisoned for six years, while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, an ally of Salvini, categorized the trial as “shameful.”

If convicted, Salvini plans to appeal to the Supreme Court of Cassation, Italy’s highest court, a procedure that could last for months and would not impact his government and parliamentary roles.