Domenico 'Mimmo' Lucano is the former mayor of Riace, a small town of less than 2,000 inhabitants in southern Italy, known as a “dying town.” Its homes were abandoned, and its ancient trades faded into history.

Mimmo’s idea was simple: to bring life to Riace, welcome migrants. Mimmo resettled hundreds of migrant families, and the ‘global village’ of Riace flourished.

But Mimmo made powerful enemies too.

When Italy’s far-right politician Matteo Salvini came to power in 2018, he placed Mimmo under house arrest and accused Mimmo of “colonising Italy with migrants.”

Then, in September last year, the Italian courts sentenced Mimmo to a shocking 13 years in prison.

Following his sentence, Mimmo’s defense has filed an appeal — the final chance for the courts to drop the case.

Now, we are building a global coalition of citizens and parliamentarians to join his defense.