The first group of 12 migrants have been returned to Italy after a courtroom in Rome stated their nations 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 an earlier group was denied entry following a botched screening course of.
The group will bear asylum procedures earlier than being transferred to the Gjader repatriation centre.
This is barely the second switch of migrants since two migrant processing facilities started working in October.
The identical Italian Navy ship had beforehand transferred the primary 16 migrants from Bangladesh and Egypt to Albania. Four of them, recognized as minors or individuals with well being issues, have been introduced again to Italy on the identical day.
Twelve others have been introduced again three days later, following a ruling by judges in Rome who rejected their detention as a result of their nations of origin – Bangladesh and Egypt – weren’t protected sufficient to ship them again.
The courtroom ruling shortened the checklist of nations thought-about “protected” by regulation, which means Rome can repatriate migrants from nations that haven’t been granted asylum utilizing an accelerated process.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticized the choice and stated that deeming nations like Bangladesh and Egypt unsafe meant that just about all migrants could be excluded from the Albania program, making it unworkable.
The variety of individuals reaching Italy alongside the Central Mediterranean migration route – primarily from Bangladesh, Syria, Tunisia and Egypt – fell by 60% in 2024 in comparison with 2023. As of November 7, in response to the Italian Interior Ministry, 57,767 migrants arrived. by sea in 2024.
