(AFP) Italian far-right leader Matteo Salvini avoided trial on Friday on charges he illegally detained migrants at sea, ending one of his legal troubles even as another related case looms.
Judge Nunzio Sarpietro in the Sicilian city of Catania threw out the case against the populist head of the League party, following recommendations in April by the prosecutor that he should not be tried.
Salvini, known for an “Italians first” policy, was accused of abusing his powers in July 2019 when he was interior minister by blocking 116 migrants from disembarking from the Italian Gregoretti coastguard boat.
Salvini had staunchly defended himself, saying he had been defending the country while carrying out his so-called “closed ports” policy amid a surge of migrants arriving on Italy’s shores after crossing the Mediterranean.
