League Senator Roberto Calderoli was found guilty by a court in the northern city of Bergamo of calling former integration minister Cecile Kyenge an orangutan in 2013. Kyenge, a doctor by profession with Congolese roots, became Italy's first black minister when she was 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 a 18-month jail term at the end of the first-instance trial.
Rulings in Italy are not considered definitive until the appeals process had 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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