Italy sends another 8 migrants to Albania despite failing to process first group
The primary group of 12 migrants had been returned to Italy after a Rome court docket stated their international locations of origin, Bangladesh and Egypt, weren’t protected sufficient for repatriation.
An Italian navy ship docked on the Albanian port of Shengjin on Friday, carrying eight migrants, a month after a earlier group was denied entry following a failed vetting course of.
The group will bear asylum processing earlier than being transferred to the repatriation heart in Gjader.
It’s only the second switch of migrants since two migrant processing centres began working in October.
The identical Italian navy ship beforehand transferred the primary 16 migrants from Bangladesh and Egypt to Albania. 4 of them, recognized as minors or people with well being points, had been taken again to Italy on the identical day.
Twelve others had been introduced again three days later, following a ruling by Rome judges who rejected their detention as a result of their international locations of origin — Bangladesh and Egypt — weren’t protected sufficient for them to be despatched again.
The court docket ruling had shortened the record of nations thought of “protected” by legislation, which means that Rome can repatriate migrants from these international locations who didn’t win asylum utilizing a fast-track process.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni slammed the choice and stated that deeming international locations reminiscent of Bangladesh and Egypt unsafe implies that just about all migrants can be barred from the Albania program, making it unworkable.
The variety of folks reaching Italy alongside the central Mediterranean migration route — primarily from Bangladesh, Syria, Tunisia and Egypt — has fallen by 60% in 2024 in comparison with 2023. As of seven November, in line with the Italian Inside Ministry, 57,767 migrants have arrived by sea in 2024.
