A court in Palermo on Friday acquitted Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister and the leader of the anti-immigrant League party, after he was accused of illegally refusing a boat carrying migrants to dock in Italy five years ago.
Rights groups had hoped a guilty verdict would help curb the government’s anti-migrant policies. For Mr. Salvini, the trial had been another opportunity to energize his base and nationalist forces around the world, who have rallied to support him in his struggle against illegal migrants in Italy.
The trial, which opened in October 2021, put Mr. Salvini, once one of Italy’s most popular politicians, back in the spotlight. Immigration had long been his signature issue, one that he rode to political success and a powerful position in government. But he was sidelined in 2019.
He returned to government two years ago, but without the same prominence he once had, becoming a junior coalition partner in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government.
The trial centered on an August 2019 episode in which Mr. Salvini, then the interior minister, refused to allow 147 migrants to enter Italy after they had been rescued by a ship operated by the Spanish charity Open Arms. Activists said a humanitarian crisis was taking place on the boat.
Prosecutors in Sicily accused him of dereliction of duty and of illegally detaining the migrants by refusing to allow them into Italy. Mr. Salvini denied the charge, saying he was doing his job by defending Italy’s borders. Prosecutors had asked that Mr. Salvini serve six years in prison.
His cover photo on Facebook showcased his portrait with the line: “I declare myself guilty for defending Italy.” He has publicized his court hearings and created short videos about his anti-immigration battle, posting them on social media in the days before Friday’s decision.
Mr. Salvini’s allies in Europe — including Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary; the leader of Spain’s far-right Vox party, Santiago Abascal; and Jordan Bardella, the president of the French National Rally — recently posed for photos holding T-shirts with Mr. Salvini’s portrait and the line, “Guilty of defending Italy.”
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told reporters on Friday afternoon before the ruling that the decision would not influence the government “in any way whatsoever.”
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