In a significant setback for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s migration strategy, a Sicilian court ruled on Monday that Egypt cannot be considered a “safe” country for the expedited return of asylum seekers. This decision affects the government’s plans to fast-track asylum applications from migrants arriving in Italy.
The ruling from the Catania court came just a month after the Italian government had updated its list of “safe” countries, which included Egypt. According to the court, however, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has set a precedent that a nation must demonstrate “general and constant” security to qualify as safe. The head of the Catania court, Massimo Escher, highlighted serious human rights abuses in Egypt, citing evidence such as the use of torture by police, violence against human rights lawyers and journalists, and discrimination against marginalized groups including women, religious minorities, and LGBTQ individuals.
This ruling led to the rejection of a detention order for an Egyptian asylum seeker. Additionally, Rosa Emanuela Lo Faro, the lawyer representing the asylum seeker, noted that the court refused to sign detention orders for four other migrants, including two from Egypt and two from Bangladesh.
The ECJ’s ruling had already influenced another recent court decision in Rome, which blocked the transfer of the first group of Bangladeshi and Egyptian migrants to new processing centers in Albania. This agreement with Albania is a cornerstone of Meloni’s administration, marking the first instance of an EU member state processing asylum claims outside its borders.
Despite this, the Italian government adjusted its “safe” countries list following the ECJ ruling, removing Cameroon, Colombia, and Nigeria, but retaining Egypt, Tunisia, and Bangladesh among the 19 remaining nations.
Giorgia Meloni, leading the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, was elected in 2022 with promises to curb the influx of migrants crossing from North Africa in small boats. Her administration’s deal with Albania, intended to house non-vulnerable male asylum seekers for rapid repatriation, has raised significant human rights concerns.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s League party reacted to the Catania court’s decision by defending the classification of Egypt as safe. The party remarked that “Egypt is a safe country for everyone, except for illegal immigrants,” highlighting its popularity as a holiday destination.