The Court of Appeal of Reggio Calabria declared the mayor of Riace Mimmo Lucano out of office, confirming the decision of the Court of Locri which last July had accepted the Prefecture’s appeal following the 18-month sentence for forgery, with a suspended sentence, remedied in the «Xenia» trial, which arose from an investigation into the alleged offenses in the management of the reception of migrants.
For the Prefecture, the conviction, final since February 2025, falls within the case of the Severino law, becoming a cause of ineligibility which, intervening after the election, which took place in June 2024, provides for a particular procedure before the actual forfeiture. After the first instance sentence, Lucano remained in office waiting for the Court of Appeal to give its opinion.
The lawyers of the mayor and MEP of Avs, the lawyers Andrea Daqua and Giuliano Saitta, have already announced an appeal to the Supreme Court which legitimizes them to a request for suspension. In essence, the lawyers had contested the application of Severino to the Lucano case in respect of which the criminal judge had not ordered the disqualification from holding public offices, excluding, in their opinion, that the crime was committed with abuse of power or with violation of the duties inherent to the functions.