Kyenge to petition EU court on Calderoli (2)

(ANSA) - Rome, September 16 - Former integration minister Cecile Kyenge on Wednesday said she would appeal to the European Court of Justice against the Italian Senate's approval of a defamation case against anti-immigrant Northern League Senator Roberto Caderoli for likening her to an orangutan without the aggravating charge of instigation to racial hatred. "The Senate's decision throws a heavy shadow on the fight against racism, just when populism and xenophobia are growing because of the refugee crisis," Kyenge said, saying the Senate's decision not to allow the aggravating charge sent "a devastating message to young people".
    In 2013 Calderoli, himself a former minister, compared Kyenge to an orangutan. Kyenge, a doctor born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, became Italy's first black minister in 2013 when she was sworn into ex-premier Enrico Letta's cabinet. She is now an MEP.