Will the decision of the gup of Catania have any repercussions on the Open Arms affair? For the lawyer Giulia Bongiorno it will be so, but only time will provide us with the answer to a question that appears enigmatic. Yesterday the judge for the preliminary hearing of the Sicilian city decided not to proceed with Matteo Salvini, accused of kidnapping for the Gregoretti ship because – according to the accusation – he would have delayed the docking of the ship with a board 131 migrants. But the GUP explained that he acted on the leader of the League “in compliance with the primary and secondary regulatory provisions dictated in this case“, and for this reason it cannot be”charged with any conduct aimed at kidnapping migrants for a legally appreciable period of time“.
The Open Arms process collapses?
The decision that arrived obviously made the number one of the Carroccio happy, who now rejoices but is already looking forward to next September 15 when – in front of the second criminal section of the court of Palermo – the first hearing of the case relating to Open Arms. Salvini will have to answer for kidnapping and refusal of official documents for having prevented the NGO (with 147 migrants rescued at sea) from docking in Lampedusa, forcing the refugees to stay for days off the coast of the island.
However, what was decided by the gup of Catania could have repercussions on this matter. This was supported by Giulia Bongiorno, lawyer of the Northern League leader, according to which the arguments of the sentence “they will inevitably have repercussions on the procedure on the Open Arms case pending in Palermo“. The senator of the party in via Bellerio reiterated in a loud voice that”there is no room for doubt on the work of Matteo Salvini“.
The lawyer Giulia Bongiorno is convinced that the reasons for the Catania ruling “they are clear in affirming the full legitimacy and absolute correctness of acting“of the then Minister of the Interior, not only in the context of the disembarkation of the Gregoretti ship but also with regard to immigration policy”carried out to protect national public order, in full compliance with internal and international legislation“. Indeed, with the broader formula, the existence of the accusatory hypothesis put forward against Salvini was excluded, precisely because it was analyzed”globally the line on the control of migratory flows of the Conte I government, reviewing multiple landings of migrants on our coasts“.