Matteo Salvini, the far-right leader of Italy, to face charges for kidnapping migrants

Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy's far-right League party

Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy's far-right League party, has been charged with the kidnapping of more than 100 migrants.

During Salvini's term as Interior Minister in 2019, he blocked more than 100 migrants from reaching Italian shores, leaving them stranded.

After prosecutors ordered the capture of the ship and the evacuation of those on board, the migrants were finally able to disembark.

Salvini's trial will take place in Palermo from September 15. If found guilty at the end of a three-stage judicial process, he could face a jail sentence of up to 15 years.

A guilty verdict would also likely see him banned from holding a government position for the rest of his career – but Salvini has maintained his innocence and says he'll fight the charges in court.

Following the news of his trial, he tweeted: "I am going to trial with my head held high, in your name as well as mine. Italy first, always." Then immediately after the ruling he took to social media to say, "Defending our country is a citizen's sacred duty, that is what I am being tried for."

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Salvini stopped several boats from docking in Italy during his 14-month tenure as Interior Minister, as he attempted to reduce the number of migrants entering the country.

He regularly accused the charities that operated them of effectively encouraging people-smuggling. On Sunday, Proactiva Open Arms, the Spanish NGO which operated the migrant rescue ship at the heart of the case, welcomed the judge's ruling.

"Violating a fundamental right such as the protection of human beings at sea for the sake of political propaganda is shameful," said its founder Oscar Camps, adding that the trial would be "an opportunity to judge a period of European history."