Italy: Interior Minister Accused of Kidnapping Migrants
"Being investigated for defending the rights of Italians is a disgrace."

by Soeren Kern • August 30, 2018 at 5:00 am

"The investigation notice sent to [Interior Minister Matteo] Salvini could in fact be seen as a direct attempt to prevent a minister from carrying out his political activity in accordance with the vote expressed by the majority of Italians on the basis of precise electoral commitments." — Gianni Alemanno, former Mayor of Rome, denouncing the investigation into Salvini as unconstitutional.
"I am amazed at the astonishment of a political left that now exists only to challenge others and believes that Milan should not host the president of a European power, as if the left has the authority to decide who has the right to speak and who does not — and then they wonder why no one votes for them anymore." — Matteo Salvini, Italian Interior Minister.
Opinion polls show that Salvini's anti-immigration stance has boosted his League party's approval rating.

The Italian Coast Guard ship Diciotti, which docked in Sicily with 190 migrants on August 20. (Image source: ARPAT/Wikimedia Commons)

Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini is under formal investigation for "kidnapping" after he refused to allow illegal migrants to disembark from a ship at a Sicilian port. The investigation, a political move aimed at blunting the government's hardline stance on illegal immigration, has threatened to plunge Italy into a constitutional crisis over the separation of powers.

Sicilian Prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio said that the investigation into Salvini, the head of the anti-immigration League party, would focus on "kidnapping, illegal arrest and the abuse of power."

Salvini responded:

"If he wants to interrogate me or even arrest me because I defend the borders and security of my country, I am proud and I look forward to it with open arms. Being investigated for defending the rights of Italians is a disgrace."

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Is Canada Prepared for the Threat of Returning Jihadists?

by A. Z. Mohamed • August 30, 2018 at 4:00 am

Canada's intelligence service stated that some 60 "returnees" -- fighters who had returned to Canada -- "have the potential to pose a significant threat to our national security." In other words, there are dozens of jihadis roaming free in Canada, without being apprehended or charged by authorities.
The noise surrounding the debate over jihadist returnees has been drowning out the country's intelligence service assessment about the threat they pose to Canada's national security -- a threat that the Trudeau government is ill-prepared, ill-equipped and ideologically ill-suited to confront.
Prevention, investigation and prosecution of terrorists should be the top priority, ahead of rehabilitation and reintegration.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (Photo by Neil Hall - Pool/Getty Images)

According to the website of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), under the section "National Security Threats - Terrorism":

"Terrorism, including terrorist travel and the radicalization of Canadians, is the most prominent threat to Canadian interests and our national security. The intelligence community has never before faced a terrorist threat of this scope, scale, and complexity."

The CSIS text, last modified on January 27, 2017, also notes that, despite ISIS's huge losses, "its ideology continues to hold global appeal, including among susceptible Canadians," and Canadians with extremist Muslim views "continue to engage in a range of terrorist activity, in Canada and abroad."

By January 2017, CSIS was aware of:

"approximately 180 individuals with a nexus to Canada who are engaged in terrorist activity abroad, approximately half believed to be in Syria or Iraq.

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