The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Thursday ruled that Italy had violated it human rights obligations when it deported a group of African migrants intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea to Libya in 2009, dpa reported. The case deals with 24 Somalis and Eritreans intercepted by the Italian Coast Guard 35 nautical miles from the Italian island of Lampedusa. Italy carried out the deportation as part of its so-called push-back policy, part of a 2008 agreement with then Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi to combat attempts by migrants to cross the Mediterranean and enter Italy illegally. The ECHR ruled unanimously that the deportation had violated Article 3 of the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees "on account of the fact that the applicants were exposed to the risk of being subjected to ill-treatment in Libya." The ECHR also ruled unanimously that Article 3 of the convention had also been violated in that the migrants "were exposed to the risk of being repatriated to Somalia and Eritrea," were they could have faced persecution. Critics, including the United Nations denounced the deal with Gaddafi as a violation of the rights of asylum seekers, since the deportations would take place without first having established whether the people involved were eligible for refugee status. -- SPA
