Italy's Salvini due in court for migrant abuse hearing

Italy's far-right opposition leader Matteo Salvini is set to appear in court on Saturday for a much-anticipated hearing on a migrant abuse case.

Salvini faces kidnapping and dereliction of duties charges for delaying, when he was still interior minister, the disembarkation of 131 migrants from an Italian coastguard ship in August 2019.

"I am calm and serene. I don't think I broke any law, but to have done what Italians asked of me," he tweeted on Friday.

Starting from 9:30 am (0730 GMT), a pretrial judge is due to assess whether Salvini should be sent to trial. He is not expected to reach an immediate decision on the day.

In July, the Italian Senate agreed to lift Salvini's immunity.

If the case reaches court and ends with a conviction, the leader of the League party risks up to 15 years' imprisonment.

The court hearing is expected to take place in a politically charged atmosphere, as the League issued a nationwide appeal to its supporters to travel to Catania to show support for Salvini.

The party organized a three-day jamboree in the Sicilian city starting Thursday, including an event with Salvini later Friday called "Italian first: A freedom challenge."

The League leader was also due to address crowds on Saturday following his court appearance, flanked by other members of Italy's conservative opposition bloc.

The leader of the hard-right Brothers of Italy party, Giorgia Meloni, and Antonio Tajani, deputy head of former premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party, were due to show up.