The regional
administrative court (TAR) of Calabria on Tuesday annulled the
exclusion of the town of Riace from the SPRAR system of
protection for refugees and asylum seekers.
Riace filed an appeal from Deputy Mayor Giuseppe Gervasi on
January 1.
The mayor of Riace, Doemico 'Mimmo' Lucano, has been
suspended amid an investigation into allegedly abetting illegal
immigration.
Lucano hailed the TAR decision, saying the town's exclusion
from the system had been "uncalled for".
Lucano had been widely praised for Riace's model of
integration and was named one of Fortune magazine's 50 greatest
world leaders in 2016.
More recently, leftwing MPs have put forward Riace for the
Nobel peace prize.
Last month the suspended mayor said he looked set to face
another trial regarding his administration's management of
migrants in the southern town after prosecutors in Locri
notified him that they have wrapped up a probe into alleged
fraud and false public statements.
Lucano had already been indicted along with 26 other people
in the separate case into allegedly abetting illegal immigration
through arranged marriages and other means.
That trial will start on June 11 in Locri.
In March the supreme Cassation Court ruled that Lucano's
ban from returning to Riace should be annulled, saying that
there was no evidence to back allegations of fraud or organizing
arranged marriages.
However, that decision did not wipe out charges over other
alleged irregularities relating to the treatment of migrants.
Lucano's administration of the small town in the southern
region of Calabria has been frequently lauded by commentators
for the way migrants were integrated into the local community
and made a positive contribution to it.
Lucano was first put under house arrest in October in
relation to allegations of aiding illegal immigration.
The arrest warrant, executed by finance police, also referred
to alleged wrongdoing over the direct assignment of
trash-collection services without a public tender.
Lucano's partner, Tesfahun Lemlem, was accused of the same
charges and, like Lucano, was banned from living in the Riace
area.
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