Iolanda Apostolico, the judge in Catania who declared recent measures taken in accordance with a new government decree incompatible with EU law, tried to end a political controversy after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was "astounded" by the court's decision.

"I do not want to enter into the controversy, nor into the merits of the matter," Judge Iolanda Apostolico told ANSA on Monday, October 2.

"My decision can be challenged by appeal to the (supreme) Court of Cassation, I don't have to defend it. It is not part of my duties. And then one shouldn't turn a legal issue into a personal matter."

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Magistrates defend colleague against allegations of bias

Although the magistrate said the issue was purely legal and not personal, critics claimed her activity on social media allegedly revealed that her position was biased toward NGOs.

Her colleagues defended her: Eugenio Albamonte, the former leader of Area, a group of progressive Italian magistrates, said it was "unworthy to pry into the private lives of judges".

Judge Marisa Acagnino, who works alongside Apostolico in the same office, stressed that "magistrates only implement the law".

Apostolico has worked in Catania, Sicily, for the past 20 years. She started her career in the court of prevention and review and then moved on to civil court, where she joined the 'group specialized in the right of the person and of immigration' of the tribunal of Catania, chaired by Massimo Maria Escher, Marisa Acagnino and Stefania Muratore.

Those who know the 59-year-old judge, who is originally from the Lazio city of Cassino, describe her as "reserved and impartial".

She is married to an official of the court of Catania, Massimo Mingrino, who has also come under fire for a few posts on social media. Apostolico has allegedly closed her Facebook profile.

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Italian newspaper spotlights alleged 'pro-NGO' posts

According to the conservative Milan-based newspaper il Giornale, Apostolico allegedly published posts against Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, leader of the League party, as well as comments in favor of NGOs and associations involved in operations to rescue and host migrants on her private Facebook profile in the past.

The newspaper said she allegedly shared a petition asking for a 'motion of no confidence' against Matteo Salvini -- who had recently been appointed interior minister -- in July 2018, without commenting.

In June 2018, she also reportedly posted an article featuring cases involving migrant-rescue NGOs Open Arms and Sea Watch alongside a request by Palermo prosecutors to shelve a case against them.

The newspaper reported that Apostolico allegedly followed the Facebook pages "Free Open Arms" and "Open Arms", the NGO that took the League leader to court.

Other pages she allegedly followed included those of left-wing parties like Possibile (Possible), Potere al Popolo (Power to the People), Democrazia e Autonomia (Democracy and Autonomy) and the profile of a unionist representing migrant farmworkers, now a member of Parliament, Aboubakar Soumahoro.

The newspaper reported that Apostolico had liked posts published by 'Permanent No Borders Unit - Ventimiglia' and photos taken on May 2011 when the 'Flaminia' ferry took 1,300 migrants to Catania, captioned 'modern deportation, support to no-border networks'.

The judge's office has already come under fire over the past few months for striking down another government measure on immigration, a decree against landings.