The 12 illegal immigrants brought to the Gjadri camp will be returned to Italy tomorrow. The news comes from ANSA, which reports that the migrants will leave Shengjin on Saturday with an Italian Navy ship to return to Bari, from where they will then be sent to a center for asylum seekers on Italian territory.
The decision of the Italian authorities came only a few hours after the judges of the immigration section of the Court of Rome did not confirm the sending to the centers of Shengjin and Gjadri of the asylum seekers from Egypt and Bangladesh who were rescued on the night of October 13 in international waters near the Italian coast.
The court's decision is not related to the agreement between Albania and Italy, but to the designation as safe countries of the countries of origin from which immigrants come, according to a decision of the European Court of Justice, given on October 4.
According to this court, for a country of origin to be called safe, it must be so throughout its territory and against every individual, who must be protected from persecution, discrimination or torture in every corner of the country.
Italy calls Egypt, Bangladesh or Tunisia safe countries of origin, but the Court of Rome says that according to the definition of the European Court of Justice, they cannot be considered as such.
As a ship is expected to pick up the 12 migrants on Saturday to take them to Bari, political debate has erupted in Italy, as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni accuses the opposition of shameful actions to the detriment of the country.
Meloni, who received the news during her visit to Lebanon, commented to the media on the court's decision, saying: "It is difficult to work and try to give answers to this nation when you also have objections from a part of the institutions."
Meanwhile, the reaction from the Italian interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, was calmer. "We respect the judges' decision, we will appeal," he declared.
In terms of political reactions in Italy, "Lega Nord" was harsh in attacking the justice system.
"Pro-immigrant judges must run in the elections, but know that we will not be intimidated," says an official note from Salvini's party.
Meanwhile, Meloni's party, "Brothers of Italy", welcomed the decision saying: "The judicial left helps the parliamentary left".
So many of the opposition are more optimistic, with the secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, who said that "we presented a question about the costs of the agreement with Albania". "There is a loss to the state treasury," Schlein said.
Therefore, the decision of the Court of Rome, similar to others already approved by the judges of various Italian cities, calls into question the foundation of the entire Rama-Meloni pact for immigrants from Africa, for which the Italian government has planned to spend over 600 million in five years.
The assumption from which the rules launched by Minister Piantedosi were born is that repatriations can follow an accelerated procedure (4 weeks) when they concern citizens of a list of countries considered "safe" and that therefore do not trigger requests for asylum
However, the decision of the Court of Justice determined that this requirement is met only by nations in which all categories of individuals, without exception, are safe from discrimination.
Many of the 22 countries identified as "safe" by Italy do not have this status, therefore there is the impossibility of keeping foreigners in the Gjadri camp.