Iolanda Apostolico, the Catania judge whose order to release three Tunisian migrants effectively defeated the government's Cutro Decree on detention centers, is reported to have participated in a 2019 demonstration in Catania to disembark migrants stranded in port aboard the ship Diciotti. The case broke yesterday morning when Vice-Premier and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini, who will be in Palermo today for a hearing in the Open Arms trial in which he faces up to 15 years in prison, posted a video of the demonstration on social media, talking about "familiar faces". One of the faces standing out among the participants would be that of the judge. At Sky Tg24, National Association of Magistrates President Giuseppe Santalucia tries to stand up for the judge, explaining that "I think it is correct to assess the impartial nature of a judge on the grounds of a measure, and not to screen on the past private or public life of a magistrate because otherwise the compression of manifestation rights becomes impossible to bear". The League's rejoinder is clear: "no screening on private life, this is a public video of a public demonstration". Controversy broke out among political forces over the case, with the center-right backing Minister Salvini's attack and the center-left denouncing the majority's overkill.
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