EU policy leading to abuse of migrants in Italy, claims Amnesty
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Version 0 of 1. European migration policies have led to the alleged torture, abuse and illegal deportation of asylum seekers arriving by boat to Italy, according to dozens of migrant testimonies published for the first time. Forty Sudanese migrants were also illegally deported to Sudan without recourse to proper asylum procedures, and at least one of them – a refugee from Darfur – was beaten by officials on his return, interviewees said. The alleged abuse is the natural outcome of the EU’s new migration strategy, according to Amnesty International, which conducted the research. The implementation of the EU ‘hotspot’ system, which forces all migrants to be fingerprinted on arrival in Italy, and the failure of the EU’s relocation scheme, which has meant more refugees are housed in Italy and Greece than most EU members, has stretched Italian resources and created a dynamic that encourages abuse, Amnesty said. One Sudanese victim told the Guardian: “I saw someone tortured with electricity – I saw it with my own eyes.” The 23-year-old, who also provided testimony to Amnesty, added: “He refused to give [the police his] fingerprints, and that’s why they did it. They used Tasers.” The Italian interior ministry did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment. Italian officials and politicians have previously warned that the country lacks the resources to care properly for so many asylum seekers, and needs more support from its European neighbours. Since 2015, European leaders have forced Italy to register all arrivals from Libya, effectively making Italy responsible for their care, without welcoming any themselves. Just 1,200 refugees have been formally relocated from Italy to other European countries out of the 40,000 whom EU members initially promised to absorb. The Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, threatened last week to veto the disbursement of EU funds to countries that failed to welcome refugees from Italy. “Italy cannot take another year like the one we’ve just had,” Renzi said. Amnesty’s lead researcher on the project, Matteo De Bellis, said: “The hotspot approach, designed in Brussels and executed in Italy, has increased, not decreased, the pressure on frontline states. It is resulting in appalling violations of the rights of desperately vulnerable people for which the Italian authorities bear a direct responsibility and Europe’s leaders a political one.” The vast majority of incoming migrants appear to have been treated in a humane manner by Italian police. The Italian navy and coastguard also play an instrumental role in the rescue of hundreds of thousands of stricken asylum seekers in the southern Mediterranean. But the testimonies released on Thursday reveal that several officials, under pressure to fingerprint uncooperative asylum seekers, and to stem migration numbers, have abused people and returned them to dangerous situations without allowing them to apply for asylum. One 27-year-old victim alleged that policemen in Sicily beat and Tasered him before using a pair of three-pronged pliers on his naked testicles. “I was on a chair made of aluminium, with an opening on the seat,” he told Amnesty, in testimony also confirmed by a second victim. “They held [my] shoulders and legs, took my testicles with the pliers, and pulled twice. I can’t say how painful it was.” A 16-year-old from Darfur told Amnesty that he was electrocuted after he tried to resist being fingerprinted. “They gave me electricity with a stick, many times on the left leg, then on right leg, chest and belly,” he was quoted as saying. “I was too weak, I couldn’t resist and at that point they took both my hands and put them on the machine.” A Darfurian man deported to Sudan in August told the Guardian he was expelled despite telling policemen that he wished to apply for asylum. “I told them I wanted political asylum in Italy,” he said by telephone. “But I’m not sure the translator translated this.” The dangers of his illegal deportation became apparent on his arrival in Sudan. At least one returnee was beaten by Sudanese security officials during his interrogation, the man said. “He was dragged on the floor, and hit with a chair. We were in the same room, and he was next to me. I don’t [know] why they did it.” The Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, has been charged by the international criminal court with three counts of genocide in Darfur. The Guardian has asked the Sudanese government for comment. Additional reporting: Eiad Abdullatif |