A mayor once held up as a model for migrant integration in Italy was sentenced to 13 years in jail on Thursday for a series of crimes including abetting illegal immigration.
Domenico Lucano, the mayor of Riace in southern Italy until 2018, was first arrested in the same year on charges of involvement in organising “marriages of convenience” for asylum seekers.
He made global headlines for welcoming migrants to the sparsely-populated Calabrian village in a bid to boost jobs and development.
Prosecutors had called for the 63 year old, known as Mimmo, to be sentenced to seven years and 11 months for a series of crimes, including conspiracy, abuse of office, fraud, extortion and embezzlement.
His lawyers said the court found him guilty on nearly every count, and gave him almost double the prison term – 13 years and two months – sparking disbelief and outrage among supporters and the political left.
"It's an exorbitant conviction that totally goes against the evidence ... totally incomprehensible and unjustified," lawyers Giuliano Pisapia and Andrea Daqcua said.
"More than 13 years in prison for a man like Mimmo Lucano, who lives in poverty and has had no pecuniary or non-pecuniary advantages from his actions as mayor of Riace ... astonishing," they were quoted as saying by Italian media.
Lucano, who will appeal, "has always been committed to his community and to the reception and integration of children, women and men fleeing war, torture and hunger", they said.
The mayor's arrest in 2018 stunned some in Italy and reverberated around Europe, where the "Riace model" – paid for since the 2000s with Italian and European funds – had been hailed as a simple but effective way to revive depopulated villages and house hundreds of asylum seekers.
The programme saw abandoned houses restored and craft workshops reopened in Riace, attracting tourists, and was lauded by many as a model of integration.
Lucano was even named one of the 100 most influential personalities by Fortune magazine in 2016 and inspired a docu-fiction by Wim Wenders.
The court ordered Lucano to repay 500,000 euros ($580,000) worth of EU funds, media reports said.
"I am outlawed because the state has behaved cowardly towards me," Lucano said as he left court, Repubblica newspaper reported.
"I have spent my life chasing anti-mafia ideals. I became mayor, I sided with the least fortunate, with the refugees," he said.
He said he thought it "unlikely that mafia crimes receive such sentences".
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Top 5 concerns globally:
1. Unemployment
2. Spread of infectious diseases
3. Fiscal crises
4. Cyber attacks
5. Profound social instability
Top 5 concerns in the Mena region
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5. Cyber attacks
Source: World Economic Foundation
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The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
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