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Domenico Lucano

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Domenico Lucano
Official portrait, 2024
Mayor of Riace
Incumbent
Assumed office
10 June 2024
Preceded byAntonio Trifoli
In office
12 June 2004 – 3 October 2018
Preceded byCosimo Salvatore Comito
Succeeded byAntonio Trifoli
Member of the European Parliament
for Southern Italy
Incumbent
Assumed office
16 July 2024
Personal details
Born (1958-05-31) 31 May 1958 (age 66)
Melito di Porto Salvo, Italy
Political partyAVS (2024–present)
The Left (2024–present)
Other political
affiliations		Independent (until 2024)
SpouseAnna
Children3
OccupationPolitician

Domenico "Mimmo" Lucano (born 31 May 1958) is an Italian former teacher and politician who served as the mayor of Riace between 2004 and 2018 and again since 2024, and was elected a member of the European Parliament in 2024. As a mayor, he attracted international attention for his open migration model.

After the first-instance trial had sentenced him 13 years and 2 months in prison, which was controversial and much debated, he was acquitted of most of the charges on appeal, with the judges ruling that his migration management model was not criminal. He was the successful left-wing independent candidate within the Greens and Left Alliance electoral list for the 2024 European Parliament election.

Early life

[edit]

Lucano was born in Melito di Porto Salvo but moved early in his life to Riace, both being in the Southern Italy region of Calabria. He obtained a high school degree in chemistry qualifying him as operator in the chemical sector and then moved to Rome in Lazio to study medicine; he remained there for four years, then decided to abandon his studies and return to Calabria.

He became a practical high school teacher in chemical laboratory activities, a profession he practiced first in Rome, then in Bussoleno, in the Piedmont region, whilst living in Santena in the province of Turin.[1][2]

Career

[edit]

Lucano worked as a teacher for most of his adult life, and started his career a human rights activist since the late 1980s and early 1990s. Lucano began to take an interest in the migrant reception methods adopted in Badolato in 1987, and as a free citizen, together with other citizens of Riace, he welcomed some Kurds who landed on the coasts of Riace on 1 July 1998.[3] Lucano became mayor of Riace in 2004, maintaining the role since then. In 2009, shortly after his first re-election as mayor, Lucano was shot at through the window of a restaurant and two of his dogs were poisoned and killed.[4] He gained international recognition for settling refugees in his village, which was experiencing population decline.[5][6] In the context of the European migrant crisis, he also gained worldwide attention through his innovative approach to dealing with refugees.[7] As mayor of Riace, Lucano allowed 450 refugees to settle among the 1,800 inhabitants of the village, revitalising it and preventing the closure of the local school.[8][9]

With all charges dropped from the Locri investigation that began in 2018,[10][11] Lucano was chosen as an independent candidate for the Greens and Left Alliance in the 2024 European Parliament election in Italy.[12] Selected as candidate in all European Parliament constituencies in Italy except for Central Italy, he was elected obtaining over 190,000 preferences, with 22,500 votes in Calabria and 6,500 votes in the province of Reggio Calabria;[13] with over 76,000 votes in the Southern Italy constituency, he was the most voted for the Greens and Left Alliance,[14][15] and was one of four Calabrians elected to the European Parliament.[16] He was also again elected mayor of Riace,[17][18] with 46.3 percent of the votes, ahead of Francesco Salerno (34.9 percent) and the then incumbent mayor Antonio Trifoli (18.7 percent).[19][20] As a newly elected member of the European Parliament and as an alternative to the rise of the far right, especially in France and Germany, Lucano called to "relaunch our experiment in Europe for a new impulse to welcome [migrants] and peace", and said that his first priority would be "to insist on social and economic development for fragile areas such as Calabria".[14][15]

Honours

[edit]

Lucano was ranked third in the 2010 World Mayor competition; the winner Marcelo Ebrard was the mayor of Mexico City, which at the time had about nine million inhabitants.[5][21] He was also listed at number 40 by Fortune as one of the world's greatest leaders in 2016.[9][22] In 2017, he was awarded the Dresden Peace Prize.[23][nb 1]

Trials

[edit]

In October 2018, the Italian police put Lucano under house arrest for allegedly helping illegal migrants to stay in the country by organising marriages of convenience.[4][24] In April 2019, Lucano was indicted with other 26 people on charges of abuse of power and aiding illegal immigration.[25] In the same month, he faced another probe regarding alleged false public statements and fraud.[26] In September 2021, in the first-instance trial,[nb 2] Lucano was sentenced to 13 years and 2 months in prison for aggravated fraud, embezzlement, forgery, and abuse of office crimes, further aggravated by the criminal conspiracy with his partner Tesfahun Lemlem and several figureheads "in order to continue to enrich themselves, exploiting the migrants".[27][28]

In motivating the sentence, the judges spoke of facade and appearance.[29][30] The sentence was nearly double the 7 years and 11 months requested by the prosecution.[31] Public opinion on the sentence was divided, with voices on the left considering it politically motivated.[32][33][34] In October 2023, this was reduced to 1 year and 6 months on appeal and the jail-related sentence was suspended; Lucano was convicted for forgery and abuse of office, and acquitted of the most serious charges.[35][36] The Court of Appeal declared some wiretaps "unusable" and some crimes prescripted.[37][38] In motivating the sentence on appeal, which overturned the first-instance trial,[10] the judges ruled that Lucano's mission was "to fuel an economy of hope" and "to help the most disadvantaged". According to the judges, who spoke of an "indisputable intent of solidarity", Lucano "never thought of making money from refugees".[39] After the ruling that acquitted him and dropped the charges, Lucano said a never-ending nightmare was finally over.[40]

In October 2024, Lucano is convicted by the Court of Auditors in Catanzaro for tax damage of 780 thousand euro along with others. For the judges, his conduct demonstrates a clear intent to unfairly enrich private interests.[41][42]

Personal life

[edit]

Lucano is married to Anna, with whom he has three children.[43][44]

Notes

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  1. ^ For the announcement of Lucano's win, see "Dresden's peace prize goes to Italy". Friedenspreis Dresden. 12 February 2017. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2024. For a list of the prize winners, see "Laureates – Dresden-Preis". Friedenspreis Dresden. 2017. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  2. ^ According to the Italian law, which has three degrees of judgment and follows the "presumption of innocence" principle, a defendant is "not guilty" until the sentence "becomes final". A defendant has the right to all three levels of judgment (Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court of Cassation) and to advance, in any level, a request for a constitutional complaint. They also have the right to go to supranational courts, such as the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights, to stand up for their reasons. See "Presunzione di non colpevolezza". Treccani (in Italian). 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2024.

References

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  1. ^ Sasso, Chiara (2012). Riace, terra di accoglienza (in Italian). Turin: Gruppo Abele. pp. 28–30. ISBN 978-88-6579-025-0. Retrieved 10 June 2024 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ https://verdisinistra.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CV_Lucano_Domenico.pdf
  3. ^ Sasso, Chiara (2012). Riace, terra di accoglienza (in Italian). Turin: Gruppo Abele. p. 26. ISBN 978-88-6579-025-0. Retrieved 10 June 2024 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ a b Giuffrida, Angela (7 October 2018). "In Italy's 'hospitality town', migrants fight to save mayor who gave them a new home". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b Vom Hove, Tann (7 December 2010). "World Mayor: The 2010 results". World Mayor. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Domenico Lucano". Fortune. 2016. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  7. ^ Sreenivasan, Hari (3 April 2016). PBS NewsHour Weekend.
  8. ^ Ash, Lucy (10 January 2011). "Italian mayor saves his village by welcoming refugees". BBC News. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  9. ^ a b Poggioli, Sylvia (12 April 2016). NPR Morning Edition (radio). NPR. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  10. ^ a b Ripolo, Mariateresa (10 June 2024). "La doppia sfida di Mimmo Lucano: valanga di voti alle Europee, ora fari puntati sulle comunali a Riace". Corriere della Calabria (in Italian). Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Il ritorno di Mimmo Lucano: eletto sindaco di Riace e all'Europarlamento". Quotidiano Nazionale (in Italian). 10 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  12. ^ Munster, Ben (21 May 2024). "Divided by migration, this tiny Italian community turned into a ghost town". Politico. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  13. ^ Caridi, Peppe (10 June 2024). "Mimmo Lucano è eurodeputato: dal modello Riace all'Eurocamera di Strasburgo con 190 mila voti!". StrettoWeb (in Italian). Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  14. ^ a b Imperitura, Vincenzo (10 June 2024). "Lucano eletto in Europa: 'Contento ma solo tornare a fare il sindaco di Riace mi renderebbe felice'". LaC News24 (in Italian). Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Doppia elezione per Lucano, trionfa alle Europee ed è di nuovo sindaco di Riace: il video". LaC News24 (in Italian). 10 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  16. ^ Clausi, Massimo (10 June 2024). "Europee, la carica dei calabresi: eletti Princi (Fi), Nesci (Fdi), Lucano (Avs) e Tridico (M5s)". LaC News24 (in Italian). Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Riace, Mimmo Lucano di nuovo sindaco: il 'curdo' torna alla guida del comune | Elezioni Amministrative 2024". Il Reggino (in Italian). 10 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  18. ^ Candito, Alessia (11 June 2024). "La doppia vittoria di Mimmo Lucano, trionfa alle Europee e torna sindaco a Riace: 'Salvini pensava fosse tutto finito? Si sbagliava'". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  19. ^ "Speciale Elezioni Comunali 2024: tutti i risultati comune di Riace". La Repubblica (in Italian). 8 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024. Updated 10 June 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  20. ^ "Elezioni comunali – Riace, Lucano vince con il 46,31%". Lente Locale (in Italian). 10 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  21. ^ Marrazzo, Donata (11 October 2023). "Ecco chi è Mimmo Lucano, per tutti Mimì Capatosta". Il Sole 24 Ore (in Italian). Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  22. ^ "Riace: The Italian village abandoned by locals, adopted by migrants". BBC News. 25 September 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  23. ^ "Court reduces sentence of Italian ex-mayor for pro-refugee policies". Peoples Dispatch. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  24. ^ Reeves, Chris (4 October 2018). "Italy Arrests World-Renowned Sanctuary City Mayor for Aiding Illegal Migrants". Townhall. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  25. ^ "Riace Mayor Mimmo Lucano indicted". Agenzia ANSA. 11 April 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  26. ^ "Riace Mayor Lucano faces new probe". Agenzia ANSA. 12 April 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  27. ^ Musolino, Lucio (18 December 2021). "'Mimmo Lucano si è arricchito sfruttando l'accoglienza dei migranti': la sentenza integrale". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  28. ^ Travaglio, Marco (18 December 2021). "La sentenza e i tifosi". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  29. ^ "'Povertà di Lucano mera apparenza. Accoglienza strumentalizzata a beneficio dell'immagine politica'". Corriere della Calabria (in Italian). 17 December 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  30. ^ "Sentenza Lucano, per il tribunale di Locri 'non c'è traccia di fantomatici 'reati di umanità'". Corriere della Calabria (in Italian). 18 December 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  31. ^ Tondo, Lorenzo (30 September 2021). "Pro-refugee Italian mayor sentenced to 13 years for abetting illegal migration". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  32. ^ Manconi, Luigi (21 December 2021). "La perversa letteratura processuale nelle motivazioni della condanna di Mimmo Lucano". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  33. ^ Buccini, Goffredo (18 December 2021). "Mimmo Lucano e l'accoglienza da campeggio libero". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  34. ^ "Mimmo Lucano derubava i migranti, le motivazioni della sentenza: 'Agiva con logica predatoria'". Il Tempo (in Italian). 18 December 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  35. ^ "Mimmo Lucano, condanna ridotta in Appello a un anno e sei mesi". Adnkronos (in Italian). 11 October 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  36. ^ "Mimmo Lucano, cadono le accuse più gravi: condannato in appello a un anno e 6 mesi, pena sospesa". RaiNews (in Italian). 11 October 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  37. ^ "Lucano assolto dalle accuse più gravi. Resta la condanna a 1 anno e mezzo. 'E' La fine di un incubo'". TGLA7 (in Italian). 11 October 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  38. ^ Musolino, Lucio (11 October 2023). "Mimmo Lucano, cadono quasi tutte le accuse in appello: condanna a 1 anno e 6 mesi". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  39. ^ Ripolo, Mariateresa (12 April 2024). "La 'mission' di Mimmo Lucano era 'alimentare una economia della speranza' e 'aiutare gli ultimi'". Corriere della Calabria (in Italian). Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  40. ^ "Charges dropped against Riace ex-mayor 'Mimmo'". InfoMigrants. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  41. ^ https://www.corriere.it/politica/24_ottobre_13/mimmo-lucano-condannato-dalla-corte-dei-conti-danno-erariale-da-780-mila-euro-sull-accoglienza-dei-migranti-84d87763-dd71-4059-89e4-376c2edabxlk.shtml
  42. ^ https://www.rainews.it/tgr/calabria/articoli/2024/10/corte-dei-conti-condannato-mimmo-lucano-per-irregolarita-nella-gestione-del-modello-riace-f1ecdccd-9309-4469-b79e-300da7b3e9b3.html
  43. ^ Candito, Alessia (30 March 2016). "Il sindaco calabrese tra i potenti della Terra". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  44. ^ Macrì, Carlo (24 July 2017). "Il sindaco che ha perso la famiglia per accogliere i profughi". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 10 June 2024.
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