An Italian Navy vessel arrived in Albania on Tuesday with 49 migrants who were intercepted in international waters. Their asylum applications will be examined at processing centres in Albania.
The migrants on board are Bangladeshis, Egyptians, Ivorians and Gambians rescued over the weekend in international waters south of Lampedusa, who will now be subjected to the expedited border procedures envisaged for those arriving from safe countries who have not handed over identity documents.
At the Italian Shengjin hotspot, asylum seekers will be identified and undergo an in-depth medical examination. If migrants in a vulnerable condition are found, they will be sent to Italy, as happened in some cases in two previous transfers to Albania last October and November. They will then be transferred to another centre under our jurisdiction, in Ghiadera, some twenty kilometres away, on the basis of a detention order issued by the Commissioner of Police of Rome.
Within 48 hours, the judges of the Court of Appeal of the capital will have to decide whether the detention is lawful. The answer should come by Thursday. In other cases, magistrates have suspended checks on all detained migrants who were then taken to Italy.
Italy and Albania have previously signed an agreement under which all migrants intercepted at sea on their way to Italian and EU shores will be diverted to a special reception camp in Albania.
