Rome Court Returns Migrants Transferred to Albania Back to Italy

Dozens of 'illegal' migrants who were transferred to Albania by order of the Italian government will be returned to Italy following a ruling by a court in Rome. According to AFP, after the court opposed the detention and transfer of asylum seekers from Italy to Albania, a boat carrying 43 migrants left Albania for the port of Bari in Italy on Saturday, February 1. Media outlets have described the court's ruling, which deemed the government's plan to hold migrants in another country illegal, as a new blow to the initiative of Georgia Meloni's government. Italy, based on an agreement with the Albanian government, has established two camps for the temporary accommodation of asylum seekers in that country. This is the first time that a European Union member state has attempted to combat the wave of illegal migration and deter migrants from illegal entry by transferring asylum seekers to a country outside the Union. Administrative facilities in the port of Shengjin and a camp named Jader are managed by Italian officials and funded by Italy. According to the bilateral agreement between Italy and Albania, the number of asylum seekers temporarily accommodated in Albania should not exceed three thousand. However, Meloni's government plan has faced severe criticism from human rights groups and opposition from the courts in Italy from the outset. AFP reported on Saturday, citing an unnamed source, that the appellate court in Rome has now referred the case of 43 new migrants to the European Court of Justice. Among these 43, the largest number are from Bangladesh, along with six from Egypt, one from Ivory Coast, and one from Gambia. In October of this year, just three days after the transfer of some asylum seekers from Italy to Albania outside the EU, an Italian Coast Guard ship, following a court ruling in Rome, returned 12 of the migrants to Italy. The Italian government has emphasized that it will only transfer 'non-vulnerable' male asylum seekers coming from 'safe' countries to Albania. Currently, Italy has listed 21 countries as 'safe.' In contrast, human rights and asylum rights activists argue that a thorough examination of the asylum requests or appeals of individuals in Albania will not be an easy task for Italian courts and may prolong the review process and even lead to mistakes.