Italian navy ship with 2nd group of migrants departs for Albania

By Baris Seckin

ROME (AA) - Under a controversial plan, an Italian navy ship has departed for Albania, carrying a second group of migrants whose asylum claims will be processed there, media reports said Wednesday.

The Libra, an Italian navy ship, is transporting the migrants to Italian-run centers in Albania, located about 170 kilometers (106 miles) from Italy across the Strait of Otranto, reported Italian news agency ANSA.

The ship, carrying eight migrants rescued Monday off Italy’s Lampedusa Island, is expected to arrive at the migration center in Port of Shengjin, northern Albania, Thursday.

Last month, Italy sent the first group of 16 migrants to Albania, but an Italian court later ruled that their detention there was invalid, ordering the authorities to return them to Italy.

The court reasoned that the migrants’ home countries were not deemed safe.

In response to the ruling, the Italian government, led by Giorgia Meloni, adopted a new decree aimed at overcoming judicial obstacles in its controversial migration agreement with Albania.

The five-year deal between Rome and Tirana has drawn widespread criticism from human rights groups and NGOs that assist migrants crossing the Mediterranean.

They argue that the Italy-Albania deal, which involves offshoring migrants’ detention to a non-EU country, undermines human rights and violates international law.