Migrants Transferred to Albania Returned to Italy by Court Order in Rome

Three days after some asylum seekers in Italy were transferred to Albania outside the European Union, an Italian Coast Guard ship returned 12 migrants to the country by order of a court in Rome. Reuters reported on Saturday, October 20, that according to the ruling of the Rome court, the mentioned migrants were returned to Italy because their countries of origin, namely Egypt and Bangladesh, cannot be considered safe countries. Initially, the number of these migrants, who could have been transferred to Egypt and Bangladesh if their asylum requests were rejected by Albania, was 16, but four of them had previously been returned to Italy due to health issues and being minors, and now all of them have been returned to Italy. A government cabinet meeting is expected to be held in three days to decide on Italy's response to the Rome court's ruling. The controversial plan of the Italian government to process asylum requests for thousands of asylum seekers outside the borders of the European Union has recently entered the implementation phase, and the first group of illegal migrants was transferred to Albania by a military ship. The first group, which was taken to Albania on Wednesday morning, October 25, included 10 Bangladeshis and six Egyptians who were rescued from boats traveling from Libya to Italy on October 22. Ms. Meloni, in an interview with reporters during her trip to Lebanon, described the Rome court's decision as 'biased' and stated that it is up to her government to determine which countries are safe and which are not. She said perhaps the government can better explain what is meant by 'safe country.' The Italian Minister of the Interior also stated that he is confident that the Rome court's decision to return some migrants will be overturned and that the government will appeal to the Supreme Court if necessary. Italy says it will accept those migrants who have received asylum, but those whose requests are rejected will be directly expelled from Albania to other countries.