Giorgia Meloni – Page 2 – Eye on Islamism

Alarm in Italy over law to shutter Muslim prayer spaces Opposition decries ‘unacceptable discrimination’ as Premier Meloni’s far-right party pushes bill that could close down over 1,000 Muslim worship places

June 26, 2023 Giovanni Legorano

(Anadolu) A controversial law proposed by the ruling far-right coalition has again brought Muslims and their places of worship to the fore of Italy’s political discourse. If passed, the law could shut down hundreds of Islamic prayer spaces, a prospect triggering alarm […]

FdI presents bill to ban mosques in warehouses, garages Opposition says draft legislation is unconstitutional

June 10, 2023 Unlisted Author

(ANSA) Opposition parties have blasted a bill presented by Premier Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party that would ban garages and industrial warehouses and facilities from being used as mosques. Among other things, the opposition parties have expressed doubts about […]

EU countries agree to major migration deal Last-minute concessions to Italy unblocked a deal that could overhaul the EU’s asylum system for the first time in years.

June 8, 2023 Gregorio Sorgi and Jacopo Barigazzi

(Politico) Italy finally gave its blessing. Rome’s green light on Thursday evening unlocked a major deal to overhaul the EU’s asylum procedures for the first time in years after a grueling gathering of home affairs ministers in Luxembourg. “I wasn’t sure this […]

Rights watchdog denounces Italy immigration law as ‘inhumane’

May 12, 2023 Crispian Balmer

(Reuters) A new Italian law that narrows asylum rights in an effort to dissuade migrants from heading to Italy is repressive and inhumane, a leading rights watchdog said on Friday. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s nationalist government drew up the legislation after a […]

Italy’s Meloni defends Britain’s migration deal with Rwanda

April 28, 2023 Angelo Amante

(Reuters) Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday Britain’s plan to send illegal migrants to Rwanda was a deal between two free nations which are safeguarding the safety of the people, adding it was wrong to call it a deportation. Meloni, […]

EU lawmakers endorse pact to revise migration rules The proposal would speed the return of migrants entering the EU without permission and force countries to accept asylum seekers during emergencies.

April 20, 2023 Gregorio Sorgi

(Politico) EU lawmakers on Thursday gave the green light to a central plank of the EU’s flagship migration package, the latest sign of progress on long-stalled reforms. The European Parliament measure endorses new rules seeking to speed up the return of migrants […]

Italy minister shocks with ‘ethnic replacement’ warning

April 18, 2023 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Italian minister Francesco Lollobrigida, one of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s closest allies, sparked outrage Tuesday by warning against the “ethnic replacement” of Italians by migrants. “We cannot resign ourselves to the idea of ethnic replacement: Italians have fewer children, so let’s […]

Italy pushes crackdown on migrants reaching its shores

April 17, 2023 Frances D'Emilio

(AP) Italy’s right-wing government pressed ahead with plans to crack down on migrants as they arrived by the hundreds on Monday at a Sicilian port after a coast guard rescue. Dozens more were taken on board a charity boat from an unseaworthy […]

Italy declares state of emergency as migrant numbers surge

April 11, 2023 Frances D'Emilio

(AP) Italy’s right-wing government on Tuesday declared a six-month national state of emergency to help it cope with a surge in migrants arriving on the country’s southern shores. State TV said a special commissioner was expected to be named. Initial funding of […]

Europe risks migrant surge without aid to Tunisia, Italy PM warns

March 24, 2023 Gianluca Semeraro

(Reuters) Europe risks seeing a huge wave of migrants arriving on its shores from North Africa if financial stability in Tunisia is not safeguarded, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday. Tunisia has been gripped by political upheavals since July 2021, […]

Italy estimates 680K migrants might cross sea from Libya

March 12, 2023 Frances D'Emilio

(AP) Intelligence reports indicate nearly 700,000 migrants are in Libya awaiting an opportunity to set out by sea toward Italy, a lawmaker from Premier Giorgia Meloni’s far-right party said Sunday, but a U.N. migration official called the number not credible. Tommaso Foti, […]

Meloni denies govt responsibility on shipwreck

March 4, 2023 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Under-fire Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday rejected any responsibility of her government for a devastating shipwreck off Italy’s southern coast last weekend which left at least 69 people dead. “The situation is as simple as it is tragic: We […]

Italy: Migrants paid 8,000 euros each for ‘voyage of death’

February 28, 2023 Paolo Santalucia and Luigi Navarra

(AP) Rescue teams pulled more bodies from the sea on Tuesday, bringing the death toll from Italy’s latest migration tragedy to 65, as prosecutors identified suspected smugglers who allegedly charged 8,000 euros (nearly $8,500) for each person making the “voyage of death” […]

Migrant boat breaks up off Italian coast, killing nearly 60

February 26, 2023 Frances D'Emilio

(AP) A wooden boat crowded with migrants smashed into rocky reefs and broke apart before dawn Sunday off the Italian coast, authorities said. Rescuers recovered nearly 60 bodies, and dozens more people were missing in the rough waters. Officials feared the death […]

Italy impounds MSF charity rescue ship

February 24, 2023 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Italian authorities have detained a migrant rescue vessel run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) for allegedly breaking new government rules on life-saving missions in the Mediterranean, the charity said Friday. The Geo Barents ship was impounded late Thursday for 20 days […]

Italy approves clampdown on migrant rescue ships

February 23, 2023 Angelo Amante

(Reuters) Italy’s parliament on Thursday passed into law a government decree establishing a code of conduct for migrant charity ships, despite criticism from the United Nations and humanitarian groups that it will imperil lives. The new set of rules is part of […]

Italy’s migrant rules ‘contradict’ international law, say charities

January 5, 2023 Ella Ide

(AFP) Twenty charities on Thursday slammed new rules on rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean introduced by Italy’s right-wing government, saying they go against international law and will result in more deaths. Under the new decree, which came into effect this week, charity […]

Italy’s rightist government tightens rules for migrant rescues

December 29, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Reuters) Italy’s rightist government has approved measures to fine charities who rescue migrants at sea and impound their ships if they break a new, tougher set of rules — a move that one campaign group said could threaten lives. A cabinet decree […]

Italy: Illegal migrant landings pass 100k for first time since 2017

December 24, 2022 Chris Tomlinson

(Breitbart) The number of illegal immigrant landings in Italy has pushed past 100,000 for the first time since 2017, as the Italian government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni struggles to deal with waves of boat landings. Italian Interior Ministry statistics claim that […]

Meloni’s Italy: Muslim mob stops police from shutting down illegal mosque

December 18, 2022 Chris Tomlinson

(Breitbart) A mob of Muslims in the Italian city of Florence blocked a local bailiff from repossessing an illegal mosque, with hundreds of people preventing police from entering. A bailiff and local police attempted to take back a former garage in Piazza dei […]

Italy’s Meloni says EU must do more to halt migrant flows

December 13, 2022 Keith Weir and Francesca Piscioneri

(Reuters) The European Union must do more to protect its borders and to halt the departure of migrant boats from north Africa, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday. Meloni was speaking to the Italian parliament ahead of an EU summit […]

We must reflect on religion-based abuse of women — Meloni Violence cannot be justified by faith or custom, says premier

November 22, 2022 Unlisted Author

(ANSA) Premier Giorgia Meloni said Tuesday that it is necessary to reflect on the relationship between violence and religion, “especially in relation to immigrant women.” “Physical mistreatment, clothing limitations, bans on going to school, forced marriages, abuse and homicides get justified by […]

France denies entry to 123 migrants picked up in Italy dispute

November 18, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Most of the adult migrants rescued by the Ocean Viking NGO in the Mediterranean have been denied entry into France, which allowed the vessel to disembark after Italy blocked access to its ports, the interior ministry said Friday. The standoff has […]

4 EU members say they can’t take so many migrant arrivals

November 12, 2022 Demetris Nellas and Colleen Barry

(AP) Four Mediterranean European Union nations have issued a joint statement on a dispute over a deal for Europe to jointly help asylum-seekers. In their statement Saturday, Italy, Greece, Malta and Cyprus repeated their positions that they “cannot subscribe to the notion […]

Decision to let migrants off NGO ships ‘bizarre’ — Meloni NGO vessels aren't carrying shipwreck survivors, says premier

November 9, 2022 Unlisted Author

(ANSA) Premier Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday criticized the decision by medical officials to allow around 250 people who were on board two NGO-run search-and-rescue ships to disembark in Catania on Tuesday on health grounds. The ships, the Humanity 1 and the Geo […]

Migrant banned from Europe and on terror watchlist arrested in Paris no-go suburb

November 9, 2022 Chris Tomlinson

(Breitbart) A Tunisian migrant banned from entering Europe and on a French terrorist watchlist was arrested in the no-go Paris suburbs of Seine-Saint-Denis on Sunday. The 24-year-old Tunisian migrant named Omar J. was arrested last Sunday in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis and […]

New Italian government closes ports to NGO ships

November 4, 2022 Colleen Barry and Sylvie Corbet

(AP) Italy’s new far-right-led government adopted a measure Friday formalizing the closure of its ports to rescue ships run by humanitarian groups as four vessels with more than 1,000 migrants continued to press for a safe port. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told […]

Giorgia Meloni: Italy’s new PM takes aim at migrant boats in debut speech

October 25, 2022 Unlisted Author

(BBC) Italy’s new far-right leader, Giorgia Meloni, has used her maiden speech to MPs to stress her aim to halt migrant boats crossing the Mediterranean. “We must stop illegal departures and human trafficking,” she said, repeating a campaign pledge to stop boats […]

Islamophobic hate crime rising as UK government tries to ‘appease far-right’: head of Muslim group Anti-Muslim hate crimes rose 42% in England, Wales for year ending March 2022: British Home Office

October 8, 2022 Ahmet Gürhan Kartal

(Anadolu) Hate crimes in the UK are on the rise because the government “tends to try to appease the far right by adopting some of their positions,” according to a prominent Muslim scholar. Anas Altikriti, CEO of Cordoba Foundation, told Anadolu Agency […]

Migrants face tougher times in Meloni’s Italy

October 7, 2022 Crispian Balmer

(Reuters) Life is tough for asylum seekers in Italy — most are denied refugee status, barred from legal employment and, polls suggest, face discrimination. Now things look set to get even worse. Fresh from her election victory, Giorgia Meloni is expected to […]

Meloni’s navy-blockade plan to stop Libya migrants ‘unlikely’

September 28, 2022 Nikolaj Nielsen

(EUobserver) Italy’s incoming far-right government will most likely attempt to usher in reforms to deny people their right to asylum. But some of the ideas put forward by the expected premier-to-be Giorgia Meloni and her Brothers of Italy party are unlikely to […]

FB, Instagram, Twitter remove migrant rape video Meloni sparked row by re-posting footage, vowing crime fight

August 23, 2022 Unlisted Author

(ANSA) Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter on Tuesday removed a video of a Guinean asylum seeker raping a Ukrainian woman in Piacenza Monday, which had been controversially re-posted by conservative leader Giorgia Meloni in a post vowing to boost law and order in […]

Italy’s Meloni shocks opponents with alleged rape video

August 22, 2022 Colleen Barry

(AP) The far-right candidate who aspires to be Italy’s first female leader came under fire Monday from opponents for posting a pixelized video that purports to show a woman being raped by an asylum-seeker. Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the Brothers of […]

Salvini warns of ‘Europe’s refugee camp’ on Lampedusa election stop

August 4, 2022 Clement Melki and Alice Richardson

(AFP) Italian anti-immigration leader Matteo Salvini warned Thursday his country would not host “the refugee camp of Europe” as he visited a migrant centre on the tiny island of Lampedusa on a campaign stop for September elections. Dozens of overcrowded boats have […]

Italy relocates migrants after Lampedusa center overwhelmed

July 9, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AP) The Italian navy on Saturday began relocating the first 600 migrants from the Sicilian island of Lampedusa after its refugee identification center became overwhelmed with new arrivals and photos circulated of filthy conditions. July has seen a sustained uptick in daily […]

Migrant arrivals by sea on Italian island swell past 2,100

May 10, 2021 Frances D'Emilio

(AP) Several hundred more migrants reached a tiny Italian island before dawn on Monday, swelling to past 2,100 the number of arrivals in around 24 hours and fueling calls from across the political spectrum for the Italian government to strengthen its migration […]

Salvini migrant case delayed, judge summons Italy PM

October 3, 2020 Giovanni Grezzi and Ella Ide

(AFP) An Italian judge reviewing charges against far-right leader Matteo Salvini that he illegally detained migrants at sea delayed the hearing until November 20 so he could hear from senior members of the government, including Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Salvini made no […]

Defiant Salvini readies for migrant trial as allies rally

September 30, 2020 Ella Ide

(AFP) Italy’s far-right chief Matteo Salvini stands trial Saturday for allegedly illegally detaining migrants at sea, in a case that could see him jailed for 15 years or serve him a political win. Prosecutors in the Sicilian city of Catania accuse Salvini […]

Italy’s Lampedusa new target of far-right anger over migrants

July 31, 2020 Andrea Bernardi, Ella Ide and Alexandria Sage

(AFP) Out in the Mediterranean, under a baking sun, fisherman Ezio Billeci comes across a boat of vulnerable migrants and calls for help, but for hours the only response he gets from Italian authorities is to “stand by.” The episode off the […]

In shift, Tunisians top migrant groups reaching Italy by sea

July 27, 2020 Frances D'Emilio

(AP) More boats carrying Tunisian asylum-seekers reached a tiny southern Italian island Monday, part of a steady stream from the economically struggling North African country that is sorely testing Italian small town mayors’ ability to stop them escaping by the hundreds from […]