Twelve migrants held in a repatriation detention center in Albania will soon return to Italy, as ordered by a Rome court. Deputy PM Matteo Salvini has sprung to the attack calling them ‘politicised judiciary’.
A Coast Guard patrol boat, set to depart from Gjader, will transport the migrants to Bari, where they will be housed at the Reception Centre for Asylum Seekers.
The court decision overturned the migrants’ detention at the centre, signalling a significant legal defeat for the Italian government’s controversial Albania deal. Matteo Salvini reacted sharply, calling it an “attack on Italy and Italians by a politicised judiciary.” Salvini, leader of the League party, announced that the League will present motions in Italian municipalities to defend the country’s borders. He warned that “those who prevent border defence put the nation in danger.”
Salvini’s remarks came as the government continues to face challenges related to the Albania repatriation agreement. The Italian government had originally planned to use a military vessel to transfer the migrants, but a Coast Guard ship will now handle the transportation.
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio also criticised the court’s decision. Speaking at a conference in Palermo, Nordio said, “The judiciary cannot define a more or less safe state—this is a decision of the highest political level.” He added that the government plans to take legislative action to address the situation.
“We answer to the people,” he stated, “and if they disagree with us, we go home. The judiciary, which is independent, does not answer to anyone, so it should not assume purely political prerogatives.”
Nordio’s comments underscored the growing tension between Italy’s political leadership and the judiciary over the handling of migration cases, particularly involving offshore detention centres like the one in Albania.
Salvini wants League to mobilise against prosecutors
Matteo Salvini followed up by urgently calling for a Federal Council of the League after “the attack on Italy and Italians launched by a section of the politicised judiciary”.
The reference is to the measure on the Albania case and the Open Arms trial, where all prosecutors have now been assigned protection.
“In the coming days,” the note continues, “the League will present motions in Italian municipalities to reiterate the need to defend the borders, while on Saturday 14th December and Sunday 15th December there will be gazebos in all Italian cities in view of the Open Arms ruling scheduled in Palermo on 20th December.
This aggressive rhetoric has already led to every single prosecutor in the Open Arms trial being assigned protection due to threats of violence. There is clearly disparity between the traditionally left-leaning judiciary and the centre to far-right government currently in power. However, this smacks of mob rule, with those who do not like a potential decision escalating actions.
