ROME, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- A committee of the Italian senate on Monday lifted immunity to former Interior Minister and senator Matteo Salvini, who faces charges of kidnapping for refusing to let over 100 rescued migrants disembark on Italian soil last summer.
The 23-member committee authorized the probe following the decision of the country's special tribunal dealing with alleged crimes committed by government ministers, which last month recommended that Salvini stand on trial for the incident.
If found definitively guilty, the former minister -- who is the leader of rightwing League party -- could face up to 15 years in jail for illegally detaining the migrants, besides being barred from any other political office.
Salvini's League voted in favor of lifting the immunity on Monday, while panel's members from the Five Star Movement and Democratic Party -- which form the government coalition -- boycotted the procedure.
The session ended up with five votes in favor of lifting the immunity and five against it, and this means the probe on Salvini was now allowed to continue, according to senate rules in case of tie.
While instructing his party fellows to vote in favor of the court's request, Salvini explained this decision to his supporters, saying he was proud of his own work as minister.
"I have always said I would have spared no effort to stop illegal immigration, and so I did as Interior Minister," Salvini wrote on his official Facebook profile ahead of the vote.
"Is someone thinking I am a criminal? Then bring me before a court. I will go there with my head held high to defend my country's honor, borders, and security... because I do believe I have only acted according to my duty," he stressed.
The incident sparking the investigation occurred in late July 2019, when 131 migrants on board of a distressed boat were rescued in the Mediterranean by Italian coast guard ship Gregoretti.
Matteo Salvini -- serving as Interior Minister at the time in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte -- pledged to stop illegal immigration and curb migrant sea arrivals from northern Africa.
This hardline stance came after Italy, along with Greece, had been receiving the most of migrant and refugee sea arrivals from the Libyan coasts for years.
The 131 migrants rescued by the coast guard were thus forced to stay on board of the ship docked at a Sicilia port for six days, until other European Union (EU) countries agreed to accept some of them.
After the green light by the senate committee, the full senate will now be called to take a final decision on Salvini's case on Feb. 17.
