Italy's Five Star votes against possible Salvini migrant trial

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Members of Italy's Five Star Movement voted on Monday against possibly putting Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on trial for alleged kidnapping after he refused to let migrants disembark from a rescue ship.

Prosecutors in southern Italy want to continue an investigation into Salvini, head of the far-right League party, for alleged abuse of power as well as kidnapping following his decision to hold migrants at sea last year.

The vote was conducted online, allowing M5S members to express whether they think Salvini should be stripped of parliamentary protection, paving the way for a possible trial. Nearly 60 percent voted in Salvini's favor.

The charges relate to the rescue of 190 people by Italy's Diciotti coast guard ship in August 2018. The migrants were left stuck at sea for five days without permission to dock.

Migrants wait to disembark from the Italian coast guard vessel "Diciotti" at the port of Catania, August 22, 2018. /VCG Photo

Thirteen migrants with health problems were disembarked on Lampedusa island in Italy's southern tip. The ship then headed to Catania in Sicily, but was blocked for another five days before the remaining 177 migrants were allowed off.

The permission came only once the interior minister had been assured other European countries would take them in.

The final word on whether Salvini can keep his protection rests with the parliament.

A Senate committee is scheduled to discuss the matter on Tuesday, after which the Senate will vote with M5S senators taking the lead from the result of the online poll.

In a bid to stave off a political tsunami, both Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and the movement's leader Luigi Di Maio have said Salvini was acting with their full support and would stand trial alongside him.

Source(s): AFP