Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was acquitted by a Sicilian court Friday on charges of kidnapping and dereliction of duty over his refusal to allow a boat carrying migrants to dock in Italy. The prosecution’s request for a six-year prison sentence and civil claims for over one million euros in damages was ruled unfounded.

In 2019, while Minister of the Interior, Salvini prevented a vessel from the Spanish NGO Open Arms from docking on the Italian island of Lampedusa. The ship carried 147 rescued migrants, of whom 27 were minors. The trial against Salvini was first initiated in April 2021.

Matteo Salvini, leader of the right-wing Lega Party, noted that he was “[a]cquitted in the trial where I was charged with stopping mass immigration and defending my country.” In an interview with public broadcaster RAI after the judgement was delivered, Salvini claimed that the acquittal established that countering mass immigration, stopping the invasion, and limiting foreign NGOs was not a crime but rather his duty. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also praised Salvini’s acquittal, urging continued efforts to stop illegal migration and protect national sovereignty. Other international figures, such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, supported the ruling.

Open Arms Founder Oscar Camps stated Salvini had been “Acquitted from justice, but not from history.” As the judges of the case still need to announce the reasoning behind their verdict, Open Arms has yet to decide on a possible appeal. The NGO claims, “The people detained on board in 2019 are still waiting for justice”. At the same time, the organization said it hopes that the prosecutor’s office will also consider an appeal.