"
Richard Gere will testify against me during the Open Arms trial
," Matteo Salvini said during a political meeting on Sunday, according to franceinfo. While the first hearing will take place on October 23 in Palermo, Sicily, the boss of The Northern League, a far-right party in Italy, is puzzled. “
I know him as an actor, but I don't understand what kind of lessons he wants to give me.
During his speech, the politician seemed amused by the involvement of the American actor. "
If someone wants to turn the trial into a show and wants to see Richard Gere, let him go to the cinema not in a court
", he laughed before adding thathe would be sure to ask for an '
autograph for my mother
". The actor has, for the moment, not commented on Matteo Salvini's words and has not confirmed that he would testify against the former minister.
The case dates back to August 2019. Matteo Salvini, then Italian Minister of the Interior, had banned the arrival of a boat from the Spanish NGO Open Arms.
On board, a hundred migrants rescued at sea while attempting to cross the Mediterranean.
The far-right leader, then Minister of the Interior, refused to grant the ship access to a safe port, while it anchored off the small island of Lampedusa, south of the Sicily.
The situation had lasted six days, as conditions on board worsened.
Matteo Salvini had been accused of kidnapping people and abuse of power for refusing their disembarkation.
An activist actor
Richard Gere, for his part, has long been committed to the Spanish NGO Open Arms. At the time of the facts and while the boat had been blocked for eight days, the actor had boarded to show his support for the migrants. "
I hope he tans a little and that he takes advantage of it,
" Salvini laughed at the time before advising the American actor to take the migrants to Ibiza on the pretext that "
the ship being the one of an NGO flying the Spanish flag
”. Richard Gere later gave a press conference in Lampedusa alongside leaders of Proactiva, with the aim of urging the Italian government to come to the aid of migrants rather than "
demonizing
" them. "
These are 121 different stories, they are extraordinary people, they are so strong, they have lived through horrors, hell, torture, rape, imprisonment, "
said the actor, saying
" to have nothing of it. to play politics ”
and
“ only want to help people in distress ”.