Italy forcibly returning asylum seekers to Greece: Investigation

Expose finds proof of asylum seekers being detained on business ferries to facilitate unlawful pushbacks.

Asylum seekers on the lookout for shelter in Europe have been illegally compelled to depart Italy and locked up in unofficial prisons at sea, an Al Jazeera investigation with Lighthouse Experiences and different media companions reveals.

The joint investigation revealed this week uncovered proof of a bootleg observe referred to as “pushbacks” in opposition to grownup refugees and migrants in addition to kids who had been made to endure inhumane circumstances as they had been transported from Italy to Greece.

Nationals from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq described being detained with out formal authorisation on board business ferries working routes between the 2 international locations over the previous yr.

They stated they had been held in darkish steel bins and small rooms with out meals or water, typically for greater than a day, as they had been shipped again to Greece after being caught attempting to succeed in Italy’s Adriatic ports of Venice, Ancona, Bari and Brindisi.

One Afghan asylum seeker who was held inside a container, stated his room was about 2 metres (6.5 toes) lengthy and 1.2 metres (3.9 toes) large.

“You may have solely a small bottle of water and no meals in any respect. … We needed to keep in that small room contained in the ship and settle for the difficulties,” the Afghan nationwide stated.

Others who had been returned to Greece had been handcuffed to steel pipes in the course of the journey.

For years folks have been illegally despatched again from #Italy to #Greece in secret prisons on non-public ships.

After months of investigating, we’ve discovered the place asylum seekers, together with kids, are being detained.

THREAD 🧵 pic.twitter.com/1rxSzdLLJi

— Sara Creta (@saracreta) January 18, 2023

 

Amongst these forcibly returned had been kids. A minimum of three instances had been verified of individuals underneath 18 being taken again to Greece.

Official Greek knowledge present that greater than 230 folks in complete have been returned from Italy within the earlier two years.

The true determine could also be greater, as a result of pushbacks should not all the time documented by authorities, rights teams have stated.

Onboard ‘prisons’

The investigation was based mostly on a number of reporting journeys between Italy and Greece on board business ships.

On one vessel, reporters obtained visible proof of a former rest room that had been used to stow away asylum seekers as they had been returned to Greece.

The room, footage of which was captured by way of its keyhole with a small digicam, contained damaged showers and bogs together with two mattresses. Names and dates had been discovered scribbled on its partitions in several languages, matching the descriptions supplied by asylum seekers.

On one other ship, reporters documented a steel field inside the vessel’s storage the place migrants and refugees stated that they had been caged.

Crew members on board numerous vessels confirmed the observe of detaining asylum seekers and returning them to Greece. They referred to the websites as “prisons” when interviewed by reporters.

Authorized consultants and NGOs corroborated the findings, saying there had been rising experiences of such pushbacks happening in recent times.

Violation of 2014 European court docket ruling

Amarilda Lici, a lawyer who works with migrants and refugees, stated testimonies of asylum seekers arriving in Italy matched the investigation’s findings.

“We discovered concerning the instances of compelled returns and pushbacks from the tales of those that managed to reach right here after a number of makes an attempt,” Lici advised Al Jazeera from Naples.

“That is what the people who find themselves arriving in Italy … typically inform us, that they've been locked inside rooms” on board the ships, she stated.

Beneath the phrases of an settlement struck between Italy and Greece in 1999, Italy is ready to return migrants and refugees who arrive within the nation with out documentation. Nonetheless, the deal doesn't allow Italy to ship again asylum seekers.

In 2014, the European Court docket of Human Rights dominated that pushbacks had been illegal after Italy was discovered to have returned asylum seekers to Greece, a transfer that denied them the chance to lodge a declare for cover.

Italy’s authorities has repeatedly insisted the observe not happens.

Greece has additionally been frequently accused of finishing up unlawful pushbacks to Turkey however denies the allegations.