Italy responsible for migrant pushback, Rome court rules

Rome: In 2021, after a merchant ship rescued a group of migrants, Italian authorities ordered for them to be handed over to the Libyan Coast Guard. A court in Rome is now holding Italy responsible, granting one migrant the opportunity to apply for protection. However, many of his companions are still in Libya, facing violence and forced labor.

The Rome Tribunal, responsible for immigration issues ruled this week that Italy was responsible for coordinating the pushback of migrants rescued by a merchant vessel in 2021. The man, named only as A. was one of 170 people rescued by the merchant vessel Vos Triton on June 14, 2021.

He arrived in Italy for the trial on March 21 and the court ordered that he be issued with a humanitarian visa, allowing him to apply for asylum in Italy.

According to a joint press release from the Italian Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI) and the German-based sea rescue organization Sea-Watch, a reconstruction of events in 2021 found that after the rescue, the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) ordered the crew of the Vos Triton to hand the migrants over to the Libyan coast guard who were on their way to pick them up.

In Libya, those rescued were taken to detention centers and faced severe abuse and violations of their basic rights, say the organizations and lawyers that defended them.

According to the reconstruction of events, in June 2021, the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC Rome) was immediately informed of 170 people in distress at sea by the Alarm Phone network. The migrant rescue NGO’s “Seabird” civil aircraft provided documentation to help in the reconstruction of the events that took place that year.

Despite being aware, the court found, that returning the survivors to Libya could result in human rights violations, the MRCC instructed the Vos Triton to wait for the arrival of the Libyan patrol boat, Zawiya, and hand over the survivors to them.

Although no Italian naval assets were present at the scene and the Vos Triton was flying the Gibraltar flag, the Court held Italy responsible, states the press release. The actions of the Italian MRCC were sufficient to establish a “qualified relationship” between the migrant and Italy, which gives the “right to reparation for the fundamental human rights violations suffered due to Italian conduct, specifically by allowing his entry into Italy,” the Court ruled.

The Italian authorities played a significant supporting role in the entire operation, putting them in a position of “responsibility to ensure the rescue of all survivors, including the current claimant, from recovery at sea to disembarkation in a safe place, something that Libya could never and can never be considered [as providing],” according to the ruling.

The migrant’s lawyer, Nicola Datena, who is also a member of Italy’s Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI), said that the ruling establishes a “crucial principle” that breaks a “systemic practice” of the Italian maritime authorities.

“Despite having the knowledge and means to intervene to assist migrants in danger in the Mediterranean, to prevent their arrival in Europe, they favor and push Libyan authorities to return—sometimes violently—those fleeing Libya. This type of intervention, known as ‘delegated pushback,’ has finally been declared illegal by the Rome Court,” Datena said.

Sarita Fratini, who describes herself as an “activist writer” on her web page and founded the collective JLProject, in 2019 to try and help support migrants sent back to Libya after attempting to reach Italy, said that the ruling opens the door for more legal projects to help migrants find justice. The JLProject joined forces with ASGI on this legal case.

“With this ruling, Italy’s covert role in the massive system of illegal pushbacks from the sea to Libyan detention camps is finally recognized,” she said. According to the JL Project, there have been over 700 victims of illegal pushbacks in Libya. Their work identifying some of those, stated the press release, has allowed A. to “access justice.”