ITALIAN prosecutors have requested a six-year prison sentence for far-right politician Matteo Salvini for blocking more than 100 migrants from landing in Italy in 2019. 

If convicted, the League party leader could be barred from holding government office.

The prosecutors in the city of Palermo have accused Mr Salvini, who is currently deputy prime minister and transport minister in the right-wing government led by Giorgia Meloni, of alleged kidnapping after a migrant rescue ship, operated by charity Open Arms, was left stranded at sea for 19 days.

During the 2019 stand-off, when Mr Salvini was interior minister, some of the migrants threw themselves overboard in desperation as the captain pleaded for a safe, close port. 

The remaining 89 people onboard were eventually allowed to disembark in Lampedusa by a court order.

Mr Salvini bragged in a social media post on Saturday: “I would do it all again: defending borders from illegal immigrants is not a crime.”

His lawyer, Giulia Bongiorno, will make her defence statement in Palermo on October 18, and a first sentence could come by the end of the month. 

Ms Meloni and several ministers of her government expressed solidarity with the League leader, defending his decisions.

Since coming to power in 2022, Ms Meloni has led a crackdown on migration.

The prime minister wrote on the X social media platform: “It is incredible that a minister of the Italian Republic risks six years in prison for doing his job defending the nation's borders, as required by the mandate received from its citizens.”

Mr Salvini maintained a hard line on migration in his tenure as interior minister in the first government of Premier Giuseppe Conte, from 2018-19.

He imposed a “closed ports” policy under which Italy refused entry to charity ships that rescued migrants in distress across the Mediterranean and repeatedly accused humanitarian organisations of encouraging people-smuggling.