An Italian court ruled Saturday that far-right leader Matteo Salvini will face charges of kidnapping and abuse of office for blocking a migrant ship from disembarking in August 2019. His trial was scheduled for September 15, a tribunal in the Sicilian city of Palermo said. For six days, he refused to allow a ship carrying 147 mainly African migrants to land, as conditions worsened on board. It is the second such case relating to Salvini's time as interior minister, when he banned all NGO rescue ships from entering Italian ports. When he blocked the ships, Salvini was part of a coalition government and held the position of interior minister and deputy prime minister.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 17, 2021 16:07 UTC