(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 21 - A court of first instance in Palermo has acquitted Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini on charges of abduction and refusal to perform public acts for halting the disembarkation of 147 migrants rescued by the Spanish NGO Open Arms vessel in August 2019 as part of his closed-ports policy when he was interior minister.
    The three-judge panel ruled that Salvini had no case to answer.
    "Defending the homeland is not a crime", the deputy premier said after the sentence was read on Friday night.
    "Those who thought they could use migrants for political ends lost and will return to Spain with their hands in their pockets", he added, referring to Open Arms, whose chief Oscar Camps was a plaintiff in the trial.
    Prosecutors had requested a six-year jail term for Salvini, who was accused of illegitimately denying the disembarkation of the 147 migrants on Lampedusa for nearly three weeks as part of his controversial policy to curb irregular arrivals when he was interior minister.
    Palermo State attorneys Marzia Sabella, Gery Ferrara and Giorgia Righi contended that Salvini, in doing so, had violated national and international law, stating that he had exceeded his powers when national security was not at stake, Sabella said Friday in her final statements prior to the verdict.
    Earlier this year, the three prosecutors were given a security detail after receiving insults and threats on social media amid the high-profile trial.
    After the verdict, Premier Giorgia Meloni spoke about "unfounded charges" and wrote on social media: "Let us continue together, with tenacity and determination, to fight illegal immigration, human trafficking and to defend national sovereignty".
    Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani noted that "there is a judge in Palermo".
    Justice Minister Carlo Nordio paid "homage to these courageous magistrates" but then added that the "trial should never have started".
    "Trials like this, based on nothing, slow down the administration, I think it is necessary to reflect on our imperfect system", said Nordio, who is the architect of a proposed reform of the judiciary which includes separating the career paths of judges and prosecutors.
    Salvini also received support from far-right allies in Europe with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban hailing the LEague leader after the verdict and noting that "justice has been served".
    Earlier, Elon Musk, who is advising US President-elect Donald Trump, wrote on his platfrom X: "Crazy that Salvini is being tried for defending Italy". (ANSA).