AP – An Italian navy ship yesterday took migrants to Italy from asylum processing centres in Albania following a court decision in Rome. It was the third failed attempt by Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government to process migrants in the non-European Union (EU) country.
A coast guard ship took 43 migrants from the port of Shengjin, 66 kilometres northwest of the capital, Tirana. They were among the 49 men who were transferred to Albania on an Italian naval ship on Tuesday. Five of them were returned the same day – four because they were minors and the fifth because he was considered a “vulnerable” person.
The fate of one final migrant is not clear.Italian media reported the men were from Bangladesh, Egypt, Ivory Coast and Gambia.
An Italian appeals court in Rome on Friday refused to approve the speedy expulsion of 43 asylum-seekers detained in Albania since Tuesday under a controversial migration deal to move the proceedings beyond EU borders.
