Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that the judges in Palermo, who sentenced Italy to pay 76,000 euros in compensation to the German migrant rescue NGO “Sea Watch“ (Sea Watch) for illegally detaining one of its ships in 2019, have "left her speechless", reported the Italian news agency ANSA, quoted by BTA.
“Not only was Rakete (Carola Rakete, captain of a “Sea Watch“ vessel) acquitted, but according to some magistrates it was permissible to break through a police blockade in the name of mass illegal immigration. Today the judges made another decision that leaves me literally speechless: they ordered the Italian state to pay the NGO, the owner of the ship, 76,000 euros in compensation,” Meloni wrote on social media.
“The ship was detained and confiscated rightfully,” she said.
“The other question I ask myself is what message they are trying to send with this long series of absurd decisions: that the government is not allowed to try to fight mass illegal immigration and that whatever laws are passed and whatever proceedings are conducted, a politicized segment of the judiciary is ready to intervene?” she said in a video posted on social media.
“We are particularly persistent and will continue, doing everything we can to keep our word to the Italian people and to implement "rules and laws of the Italian state," Meloni said. "We will do everything necessary to protect our borders and the safety of our citizens," the Italian prime minister stressed. Meloni has stepped up her criticism of court rulings against government policies, particularly on migration and crime committed by migrants, ahead of a referendum on the government's controversial judicial reform next month. She said on Tuesday that politicized members of the judiciary were continuing to hinder the government's efforts to combat migration and migrant crime after a court ruled that an Algerian illegal immigrant with 23 convictions, including for assaulting a woman, should be compensated by authorities who failed to deport him. Judges even ruled that not only would he not be deported, but that the Interior Ministry would have to compensate him. with 700 euros for attempting to enforce an expulsion order“, Meloni pointed out.
“Italians voted for the center-right for this reason: to re-establish clear rules and enforce them, and the government is doing so resolutely, even though a politicized part of the judiciary continues to obstruct any action aimed at combating mass illegal immigration“, she noted in a video on social media.
“Compliance with Italian laws is essential and anyone who refuses to do so is not welcome in Italy“, the Italian Prime Minister said.