Albania, the 12 migrants arrived in Bari. Nordio: sentence abnormal, we will legislate

Operations to transport migrants rescued in the Mediterranean Sea to centres in Albania will continue as normal. Government sources assure that no suspension is planned. Those twelve migrants were part of the first group of foreigners intercepted at sea and taken to Albania, to centres under Italian jurisdiction, according to the protocol signed by the governments of Rome and Tirana. The timing of the next landing at the port of Shengjin of an Italian military ship with migrants on board, it is stressed, will also depend on sea conditions in the coming days.

"The reaction of politics was not against the judiciary but against the substance of this ruling that we do not agree with and even consider abnormal. It cannot be the judiciary that defines a state as more or less safe, it is a very high political decision. We will take legislative measures'. Thus Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Palermo on the case of the detention of migrants in Albania.

"Insane', that is to say insane, absurd, senseless: with this adjective in a tweet Elon Musk, comments on the message of another X user who, regarding the Rome court decision on migrants in Albania, claimed that 'defending the borders of a nation should not be a crime', also publishing the video with which the prime minister Giorgia Meloni criticised the judges' choice. A month ago, the Tesla and X patron in similar tones defended deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, when the Open Arms trial was held against him: 'That crazy prosecutor,' Musk wrote in a tweet on 14 September, 'he should be the one going to jail for 6 years, this is crazy.

Matteo Salvini has urgently convened a Federal Council of the League after 'the attack on Italy and Italians launched by a politicised part of the judiciary'. The reference is to the measure on the Albania case and the Open Arms trial. "In the coming days," the Carroccio note continues, "the League will present motions in Italian municipalities to reiterate the need to defend the borders, while on Saturday 14 December and Sunday 15 December there will be gazebos in all Italian cities in view of the Open Arms ruling scheduled in Palermo on 20 December. For Salvini, 'those who prevent us from defending our borders endanger the country'.

'That there is an agreement with the French seems wise to me, even on the subject of infrastructure: I'm thinking of the Frejus, Mont Blanc, the Tav and other major works that are important for Liguria, Piedmont and the whole of Italy. I hope that the new French government will be more willing than the one before'. Responding to journalists, Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini also spoke about yesterday's bilateral meeting at the French-Italian border in Menton between French Prime Minister Michel Barnier and the interior ministers of the two countries, also to talk about immigration. "The borders are sacred. Whoever, tomorrow, wants to go to Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Canada, Switzerland or any other country in the world, must have their papers in order. It is not clear why, according to some judges, dogs and pigs can arrive in Italy'.

Words of censure come from the opposition. "It is very serious this institutional clash, all fed by the government to cover their incapacity. It is not the judges' fault, it is not the oppositions' fault, if they do not know how to read laws and rulings. No one is above European, international and Italian laws, least of all those who govern. It is a very serious clash and we will continue to nail them to their responsibilities and incapacity because they are the ones who have made this mess on the skin of migrants' rights,' said PD secretary, Elly Schlein, on the sidelines of the CGIL and UIL demonstration, responding to a question on the attacks on the judiciary. Avs MP Angelo Bonelli expresses the same disapproval. "We are not in feudalism, the Meloni government instead of attacking the judiciary and delegitimising it, respect the laws. Ignoring European laws and attacking judges for their decisions is unacceptable. We are not in feudalism, but in a rule of law, where politics cannot arrogate to itself the right to decide which laws to apply and which not to apply. Even the second highest office of state, Senate President La Russa, has attacked the judges. Meloni and her government want to rule, not govern, and this behaviour cannot be tolerated in a democracy'.

"Give them food, give them a hand so that they do not sink". The Pope says this when speaking of migrants in a video sent to the national convention of Catholic Action. "The migrant, God loves him very much, he takes care of him. We cannot close the door to the migrant", for Francis "the migrant must be welcomed, accompanied, promoted and integrated".

In the meantime, 164 of the 213 migrants at the Lampedusa hotspot have been transferred to Rome by an IOM flight. It was the prefecture of Agrigento that ordered the move, to lighten the presence in the reception structure of the largest of the Pelagie islands. The sea was rough, the regular ferries connecting with Porto Empedocle at anchor, and so an IOM flight was chosen.