Matteo Salvini’s attack on judiciary raises alarm on ‘rule-of-law’ in Italy
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A simmering row over the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in Italy has erupted after the interior minister Matteo Salvini publicly singled out three magistrates who have challenged his hardline anti-immigration policies.
The Guardian reports that in an escalation of his battle with the judges and the courts, Matteo Salvini said he would ask the state attorney to examine whether the magistrates should have abstained from passing verdicts in cases involving immigrants because their opinions conflict with government policy on security and immigration.
Luciana Breggia, a judge in Florence, and Matilde Betti, a judge in Bologna, had refused to accept an interior ministry appeal against rulings that allowed asylum seekers to be enrolled onto the civil registry of their respective cities. Rosaria Trizzino, the president of Tuscany’s regional administrative court, had vetoed the creation of so-called “red zones” – areas cordoned off against petty criminals – in Florence.
Silvia Albano, a Rome judge and board member of the National Magistrates Association, said Salvini’s move was a very serious matter.
“The statements of the interior minister are intimidating, threatening and undermine not only the rule of law but the values of the Italian constitution,” she said. “Threatening the freedom of judges means threatening the freedom of all citizens, not to mention coming from an interior minister who, as such, should guarantee the security of magistrates.”
