Salvini on trial in Italy over 2019 migrant ship

PALERMO, Italy (AP) — U.S. actor Richard Gere is officially on the witness list to testify at the trial against Italy’s right-wing former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. Salvini went on trial Saturday on charges of kidnapping for refusing in 2019 to allow a Spanish migrant rescue ship to dock in Sicily, keeping the people onboard at sea for days. It is the first trial to go ahead against Salvini for his actions preventing migrant landings while he served as interior minister from 2018-2019 in an uneasy coalition between the populist 5-Star Movement and his right-wing League. Gere visited the migrants aboard the ship after hearing of their plight while on holiday in Italy.