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Rabat – Italian authorities arrested a Moroccan young boy, on Tuesday, May 21, over allegations of arson at a police station in the northern Italian city of Mirandola.
The fire reportedly resulted in the death of two elderly people, a woman in her mid-eighties and a man in his mid-seventies, who lived above the police station, following the explosion caused by the fire.
Over a dozen others reportedly sustained injuries.
The incident stirred up anti-immigration sentiments especially among far-right parties who are using the arrest of a Moroccan citizen to call for a stronger stance on immigration.
Read also: Police in Marrakech Arrest 13 Internationally Wanted Suspects in 1 Year
Matteo Salvini, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister, who is believed to be a hard-line nationalist, has called on Europe and Italy to to take strict measures to scale down the inflow of migrants, writing on his Facebook page “Ports must be armored, in Italy and throughout Europe.”
He later wrote in a post that the “clearing up illegal migrants is a moral duty,” and the suspect must be put in jail for his “bestiality,” which he said the suspect will pay for, regardless of his age.
Salvini’s anti-immigration rhetoric comes while elsewhere in Europe, German rescue boats helped 40 refugees bound for Europe to get ashore the Italian Island of Lampedusa.
Salvini not only called for ports to be armored but he also previously barred NGO ships aiding refugees to enter the Italian ports.NGOs claimed the blockade increased the death toll of refugees, contrary to Salvini’s belief that the maritime embargo will block human traffickers.
