Italian magistrates union ANM hit back on Thursday after Premier Giorgia Meloni said she saw a "design" in recent court rulings in Italy related to migrants, linking this to the government's controversial reform of the judiciary to separate the career paths of judges and prosecutors.
"Magistrates do not do politics, they do their job every day despite insults, intimidation and a constant campaign of delegitimization that damages the very foundations of our democratic State,' said the ANM's Central Executive Council in a statement.
"The Italian judiciary will continue to do its job with deep respect for its constitutional mandate.
"There is no design against the executive; to say so is to fail to understand the functioning of the separation of powers of the State".
The government's plan to run migrant centres on Albanian territory thanks to an agreement with Tirana has been effectively halted so far because of legal hurdles and this week the court of ministers sent a request to parliament to prosecute Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and Cabinet Secretary Alfredo Mantovano over Italy's release earlier this year of a Libyan general wanted by the ICC for war crimes.
