The Italian Supreme Court has ruled that immigrants and asylum seekers cannot be called “clandestine», a word frequently used by formations such as the League of Matteo SalviniDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Infrastructure.
In fact, the Supreme Court ruling settles a long dispute between said formation, currently in the Government, and the Association for Immigration Law Studies (Asgi) and the Naga Association, which provides legal assistance to immigrants arriving in Italy.
The legal battle has its origin in a League campaign in 2016 in the town of saronno (North), in which a “invasion» and it was proclaimed that the municipality «does not want clandestines», alluding to the distribution of immigrants throughout the country. The two associations had taken the party to court for using that term, “clandestine», even more than frequent, considering that their employment constitutes «a discriminatory nuisance».
The trial at first instance and on appeal had ended with the conviction of the League, obliged to indemnify both associations, and now it has come to an end with the verdict of the Supreme Court. According to the high court, whoever arrives in Italy to request asylum “cannot be called clandestine, not even in a political manifesto” and has rejected the appeal of the party of Salviniwhich invoked “the right to free expression».
“The sentence, although it refers to a matter from years ago, also says a lot about current politics, particularly about the unacceptable custom of using the term ‘clandestine’ with those who arrive in our territory,” denounced Asgi’s lawyer, Livio Neri.
Because, he added, these are “people with a dignity that must be respected, not clandestines.”
