The husband of Italy's first
black minister is to run for the anti-migrant party that called
her an orangutan.
Domenico Grispino said he would stand for Interior Minister
Matteo Salvini's League party in upcoming local elections at
Castelfranco Emilia near Modena.
His wife, former integration minister Cecile Kyenge of the
centre-left Democratic Party, said the marriage was over.
"I understand the dismay of everybody, including that of the
League itself," she said.
On January 14 League Senator Roberto Calderoli was found
guilty by a court in the northern city of Bergamo of calling
Kyenge an orangutan in 2013.
Kyenge, a doctor by profession with Congolese roots, became
Italy's first black minister when she served in ex-premier
Enrico Letta's government in 2013 and 2014.
The court ruled that racism was an aggravating factor and
sentenced Calderoli to an 18-month jail term at the end of the
first-instance trial.
Rulings in Italy are not considered definitive until the
appeals process has been exhausted and prison terms of under two
years are usually suspended.
Kyenge did not stand as a civil plaintiff in the trial and
will not get damages.
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