The National Association of Magistrates (ANM) Union in the Sicilian city of Catania has been speaking out in defense of a local judge who claims she is at the center of a political storm, after passing judgements preventing the administrative detention of migrants.

The judge claims she has become a victim of a "persecution" campaign, at the hands of "some members of the media and politicians [who are part of] the government coalition."

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In a statement published on Monday (October 16), the executive branch of the ANM declared "we continue to deplore with dismay, pain and concern the campaign of media persecution promoted by some members of the press and politicians from the government majority against Iolanda Apostolico, a judge in the tribunal in Catania, [who they say is] 'guilty' of adopting decisions rejecting the administrative detention of migrants:" The ANM points out that other judges in her position had taken "substantially similar" decisions of this kind too.

Apostolico recently came under heavy fire after overturning in two separate decisions detention orders against Tunisian nationals on the grounds that government legislation is allegedly illegitimate.

'Inconsiderate and unseemly' personal attacks against judge

"Immigration law is extremely complex and concerns the subjective rights of people: such complexity is not only due to the multiple juridical sources (including supranational ones) involved, but also to the frequent legal changes affecting such a matter. The debate on legal decisions - including a public one and on this issue - is legitimate and, in addition, welcome", continued the statement from the ANM.

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"However, not a line of reasoned criticism has transpired from the public interventions cited above, but only rather inconsiderate and unseemly personal attacks against the judge (including by invoking - it is unclear in whose name - her 'expulsion' from the judiciary)."

These personal attacks appear also to have included intimidating behavior. According to the statement, the judge claimed she was "filmed and followed" as she went about her day, even in places where she was not at work.

'Initiatives to protect the dignity of colleagues being evaluated'

According to the executive branch of the magistrates' union in Catania, the "steady stream of attacks" against Apostolico "have nothing to do with the magistrate's professionalism and with the specific decisions" she adopted as a judge but only appear to be "aimed at discrediting her [as a person]."

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The local chapter of ANM also denounced the fact that such attacks "also have the effect of intimidating" the judge's colleagues who will need to "rule on similar matters."

The statement concluded: "The executive board of the national association of magistrates in the Catania district thus urges all those who are promoting this unworthy denigratory campaign to immediately desist from such unacceptable and illegitimate behavior." It stressed it would: "continue to be vigilant against the possible continuation of such media lynching, also evaluating with those directly affected any further appropriate initiative to undertake in order to safeguard the dignity of colleagues."