The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has sentenced Italy over the treatment of Tunisian migrants on the island of Lampedusa. Among other things, Italy violated the ban on inhuman or degrading treatment, the judges said in Strasbourg on Thursday.
The four plaintiffs left Tunisia in 2017 and got into distress in the Mediterranean Sea. They were picked up by the Italian coast guard, taken to Lampedusa and sent back to Tunisia from there. According to the ECtHR, the conditions on Lampedusa were inadequate. The people were effectively imprisoned, without official orders or time limits. In addition, their individual situation was not clarified before entry bans were imposed. According to the judges, this was effectively tantamount to a prohibited collective expulsion. Italy must now pay each plaintiff a total of 12,500 euros.
The European Court of Human Rights, based in Strasbourg, France, is part of the Council of Europe and is independent of the EU. The Council of Europe and the Court of Justice work to protect human rights in the 46 member states.
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