Italian authorities are investigating allegations that doctors issued false medical certificates to prevent some undocumented migrants from being transferred to detention centres ahead of deportation.
Prosecutors in the northern city of Ravenna expanded the investigation on September 16 when police searched the homes, workplaces and electronic devices of 23 medical professionals in several Italian cities.
Most of those searched are not formally under investigation. Authorities carried out searches in Bari, Biella, Bologna, Florence, Livorno, Milan, Rimini, Rome and Varese as part of an inquiry into alleged false medical certificates intended to prevent migrants from being sent to Centres for Repatriation, known as CPRs.
The case began with an investigation into eight doctors who had worked in the infectious diseases department of a hospital in Ravenna. Prosecutors allege that 34 certificates issued in migrant cases were false and were used to prevent the people concerned from being transferred to CPR facilities.
Three of the doctors were previously barred from practising medicine for 10 months, while five others were prohibited from handling medical certificates connected to CPR transfers for the same period.
Prosecutors are now examining whether the original cases were part of a wider coordinated structure involving doctors in different parts of the country.
Among the 23 professionals searched in the latest operation, infectious disease specialist Nicola Cocco is currently the only person formally reported as being investigated for alleged criminal conspiracy linked to the production of false certificates. His alleged role and the involvement of other professionals remain under investigation.
According to Italian media reports, investigators believe communications between doctors may provide evidence of contacts and coordination beyond the original Ravenna cases.
Cocco has rejected the accusation. He said the doctors had been involved in a public campaign highlighting concerns about the health effects of detention facilities, rather than organising a network to produce false certificates.
The investigation has generated strong reactions from medical and migrant-rights organisations.
The National Federation of Medical Associations, Fnomceo, said that falsifying a medical certificate would constitute serious professional misconduct if proven. However, its president, Filippo Anelli, stressed that political pressure or media attention should not determine guilt or sanctions before the investigation and legal process are completed.
Anelli also argued that doctors should not be treated as extensions of immigration-security authorities, saying their professional responsibility is to protect patients’ health and dignity.
Doctors Without Borders has similarly stressed the independence and responsibility of medical professionals. The organisation has asked prosecutors to consider the principles of the Hippocratic Oath as part of the investigation.
The Association for Legal Studies on Immigration, known as ASGI, has also criticised aspects of the investigation. The organisation argues that medical assessments concerning migrants must be based on clinical evidence and that doctors should be able to make independent health decisions.
Lawyer Fabio Anselmo, who represents five doctors whose premises were searched, criticised the way the police operation was conducted. He said some of his clients were not formally under investigation but were nevertheless subjected to searches and had their phones and computers seized.
The case has also sparked protests in Bologna, where doctors, medical students and migrant-support groups gathered outside police headquarters after several local professionals were searched.
Supporters have launched a campaign under the slogan “Care is not a crime”, calling for greater protection of medical independence in cases involving migrants and detention.
The dispute centres on the role of doctors in determining whether migrants can safely be held in CPR facilities.
Migrants who do not have a legal right to remain in Italy can be placed in these centres while authorities arrange their return. Medical assessments are used to determine whether a person is fit to remain in detention.
Italian authorities argue that fraudulent medical documentation could interfere with the country’s immigration and deportation procedures. Doctors and rights organisations, however, maintain that medical professionals must be free to identify genuine health conditions without pressure from immigration authorities.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has called for severe professional consequences if the allegations are ultimately proven. He said doctors found guilty should be removed from the medical register and held financially responsible for the consequences of their actions.
The investigation remains ongoing, and the allegations against the medical professionals have not been established by a final court judgment.
The latest operation reflects the continuing dispute in Italy over the treatment of undocumented migrants and the role of medical professionals in the country’s deportation system.
As prosecutors examine evidence seized from doctors in nine cities, medical associations and migrant-rights organisations are calling for the investigation to respect both the independence of doctors and the legal presumption of innocence.