The former mayor of the town of Riace in southern Italy, Domenico Lucano, has defended himself against accusations after being sentenced to 13 years in jail, saying that he is proud of having helped people who arrived in Riace after fleeing war and poverty.
A southern Italian mayor lauded globally for his approach to immigration was convicted on various corruption charges. Observers were shocked at the severity of the sentence.
Mimmo Lucano, a pro-migrant activist and former mayor of Italian town Riace, has been banned from returning to his town. A petition is calling for that ban to be lifted so he can visit his sick father.
Domenico Lucano was the mayor of the Calabrian town of Riace for 15 consecutive years. He became world-famous for his migrant-hosting and integration policies. In October 2018, he was suspended and forbidden from returning to the town while investigations against him were underway. Now the latest trial against him has begun in the municipal court in Locri.
A court in Calabria has ruled that it was wrong of the interior ministry to exclude the town of Riace from its refugee and asylum seeker protection system, known as SPRAR.
The court of appeals has upheld a residency ban on suspended mayor Domenico Lucano. Lucano is being accused of fraud, of aiding and abetting clandestine immigration, and of abuse of office. The former mayor has insisted that he is innocent.
The highest Italian court of cassation has ruled that Riace Mayor Domenico Lucano did not commit fraud. The judges also annulled the residency ban against Lucano in Riace.
The candidature of the Italian municipality of Riace for the Nobel Peace Prize has raked in 90,000 signatures, including those of thousands of teachers, associations and dozens of Parliamentarians. The city's mayor, Domenico (Mimmo) Lucano, made headlines around the world for his efforts to integrate migrants into the community. ''This brings me happiness in a period of overriding bitterness,'' former mayor Mimmo Lucano commented.
Mimmo Lucano, Riace's suspended mayor, has launched a new initiative to support integration projects for migrants in the southern Italian town. The projects were blocked after the pro-migrant politician was accused of corruption and helping illegal immigration last year.
People came from all over to Riace, the town considered a model of migrant integration, to give support to the "dream" of Mayor Mimmo Lucano, who was suspended after being involved in a court case.
Prosecutors have ended their investigation regarding the mayor of Riace, Italy. They want to charge Mimmo Lucano with migrant reception irregularities, fraud, false accounting, complicity in corruption, abuse of power and embezzlement. But Lucano denies the charges against him.
Riace seems a ghost town after a court decided to revoke the house arrest for mayor Domenico Lucano and ban him from living in the town. The prevailing sentiment among refugees and others is dismay, along with incredulity and anger.