Salvini repeatedly defended himself throughout the trial, saying he “simply protected the country’s borders” by preventing migrants from landing on Italian soil and that he was doing “what Italians asked him to do: defend the country.”
Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni and other members of her government have expressed support for Salvini over the past few months.
Meloni wrote on September 14, the day of the statement issued by the government of the Italian Republic on September 14: “It is incredible that a minister of the Italian Republic, in accordance with the mandate of the citizens, fulfilled the Duty to protect the country’s borders, but faces the risk of 6 years in prison.
Following Meloni’s comments, opposition leader Ellie Schlein criticized her for commenting on the ongoing trial. “I find Prime Minister Georgia Meloni’s intervention to be highly inappropriate,” she said. “We believe that the executive and judicial powers are separate and autonomous. Therefore, out of institutional respect, one should not comment on public trials.
Meloni reiterated her support for the minister in a speech in the Italian Senate on Wednesday. “Salvini has the support of the entire government,” she said.
In the European Parliament on Thursday, members of the far-right European Patriots group, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Spain’s Vox party leader Santiago Abascal, posed for photos with Salvini, who held a shirt emblazoned with T-shirt with his face and profile picture.
“It’s crazy that Salvini is on trial for defending Italy!” tech billionaire Elon Musk wrote on Thursday. “You did the right thing.”
