Italian pro-refugee mayor under house arrest on illegal migration charges
A town mayor in the south of Italy, known for his innovative approach to welcoming asylum seekers, was put under house arrest on Tuesday for allegedly favouring illegal migration, angering supporters but pleasing the anti-immigration interior minister.
Domenico Lucano, 60, mayor of Riace, a hilltop medieval town in Italy's poor Calabria region, was put under home confinement by the finance police in the early hours, the local prosecutor's office said.
A statement said Lucano and his partner, Tesfahun Lemlem, had organised arranged marriages with "particular ruthlessness" between local citizens and immigrant women and had set up "simple yet efficient" systems aimed at bypassing rules for migrants to be granted entrance to Italy.
Lemlem was banned from living in the town area, it added.
The prosecutor's statement also accused him of fraudulently farming out the local waste management to two co-operatives rather than carrying out the required tenders and said a broader enquiry would look into the possible mismanagement of public funds, earmarked for migration projects.
With Lucano as mayor, Riace has made headlines for opening its doors to thousands of refugees, integrating them...