Twelve migrants who had been in an Italian asylum seeker center in Albania since October 16 were returned to Italy by boat this Saturday. This decision taken by Italian judges is a severe setback for Giorgia Meloni.
A hard blow for Giorgia Meloni. There were sixteen migrants from Bangladesh and Egypt who arrived in Albania to integrate one of the centers for Italian asylum seekers installed on Albanian territory. After the rapid return of four of them, Italian justice decided for the return of the twelve others to Italy.
Indeed, shortly after their arrival in the center, four of the migrants were identified as being vulnerable. Two claimed to be minors, even though the center is reserved for adult men and two others in need of medical care. This vulnerability led to their return to Italy.
Profiles incompatible with the Italian-Albanian agreement
Italian judges nevertheless ruled that the twelve other migrants should also be repatriated to national territory. They considered that the detention of asylum seekers should be revoked due to a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice on countries of origin considered “safe” by host countries.
Thus, justice recognized the detention of the twelve men under the terms of this judgment as invalid and ordered their return to Italy. This Saturday, October 19, they therefore boarded an Italian coast guard vessel, the “Guardia Costiera CP 422”, which, according to the Albanian port authorities, will transport them to Brindisi, in the south of Italy.
Signed in November by Giorgia Meloni and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, the agreement between Rome and Tirana has a duration of five years and concerns adult men intercepted by the Italian navy or coast guard in their search and rescue zone. rescue in international waters.
The procedure provides for a first check on a military ship, before a transfer to a center in northern Albania, at the port of Shengjin, for identification, then to a second center, on a former military base in Gjader.
