Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has criticized a court ruling that requires the government to compensate migrants who were prevented from disembarking in Italy in 2018.
Meloni expressed her frustration in a post on X, writing: “Because of this decision, the government will have to pay compensation — with the money of honest Italian citizens who pay taxes — to people who tried to enter Italy illegally, violating the law of the Italian state.”
The case dates back to August 16, 2018, when the Italian coast guard ship Diciotti rescued 190 migrants from an overcrowded boat near the island of Lampedusa. After Malta refused to allow them to land, the migrants were brought to Italy. However, then-Interior Minister Matteo Salvini declared all Italian ports closed to them.
While 13 migrants were allowed to disembark for emergency medical treatment, the remaining 177 were left stranded on board the Diciotti for 10 days.
Salvini, who now serves as Italy’s deputy prime minister, condemned the ruling by the Court of Cassation, calling it a “disgrace.”
“Let the judges pay and welcome the illegal immigrants if they care so much,” he wrote in a post on X.
At the time, Salvini faced legal action for allegedly holding the migrants against their will, but the Italian Senate later blocked a request to prosecute him.
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