An Italian court has ruled that deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini committed no crime when he refused to allow a Spanish charity ship carrying nearly 150 migrants rescued from the Mediterranean Sea to disembark in Italy six years ago.

A court in Sicily Friday found Italian Vice Premier Matteo Salvini not guilty of illegally detaining 100 migrants aboard a humanitarian rescue ship iin 2019 when he was interior minister.

The deputy prime minister and the leader of the far-right League party claimed he was a victim in the fight against illegal immigration that has swept across Europe.