League leader Matteo
Salvini defended Senate Speaker Elisabetta Casellati after she
was accused of not being impartial in a vote regarding a
potential criminal case involving him and migrants he allegedly
'kidnapped'.
The Senate's immunity panel is now set to rule on Monday on
whether to grant prosecutors permission to proceed against
Salvini after Casellati voted with the opposition in a ballot on
Friday.
The case concerns Salvini's conduct when he was interior
minister regarding the Gregoretti Coast Guard ship.
The Catania court of ministers has requested parliament give
it the OK to proceed against Salvini for allegedly abusing his
power by failing to give the ok for more than 100 rescued
migrants to disembark from the ship for several days during a
long standoff in July.
"Casellati is a Senator," said Salvini, defending the
Speaker's right to cast her vote.
"I'm curious to see who will go to the Senate's immunity
panel and say I'm a criminal.
"A minister had the duty to defend the honour and security of
his country".
Salvini, who operated a closed ports policy while interior
minister in the last government, faced prosecution before but
his parliamentary immunity was never lifted so he could go to
trial before.
This time it may be different.
Ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD) leader Nicola
Zingaretti said Casellati's attitude in "abandoning her
impartial function" had been "very wrong and serious".
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