Shëngjin, Albania – April 11, 2025
In a heavily guarded and politically explosive operation, the Italian Navy vessel Libra docked today in the northern Albanian port of Shëngjin, carrying 40 migrants destined for forced repatriation. The mission, long delayed and fiercely contested, marks the first active enforcement of the Meloni government’s controversial migration deal with Albania.
The migrants, men and women from Tunisia, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Georgia, Algeria, and Moldova – were transferred from detention centers across Italy. Many had already received expulsion orders and were held in CPRs (Centri di Permanenza per il Rimpatrio), Italy’s repatriation facilities, including those in Milan, Turin, Bari, Trapani, and Brindisi.
But it wasn’t just the arrival that raised eyebrows—it was the way they arrived.
- “They were handcuffed during disembarkation,”- reported MEP
Cecilia Strada from the dock in Shëngjin. “We will demand a full
explanation of these transfer methods.”
A Secretive Departure, a Stormy Arrival
The Libra set sail from Brindisi early Friday morning, shrouded in secrecy and surrounded by police units. Authorities were bracing for protests, and they came. Activists staged a sit-in near the port, denouncing what many are calling a dangerous precedent in European migration policy.
Upon arrival in Albania, the migrants were initially brought to the facility at Shëngjin, meant only for short-term identification procedures, not long-term detention. They will later be moved inland to Gjader, a former military base now repurposed as a CPR under a fast-tracked government decree passed on March 28. This marks a significant expansion of the Italy-Albania protocol, which originally applied only to asylum seekers intercepted at sea. Now, it covers all so-called “irregular” migrants under expulsion orders.
Legal Firestorm Brewing
The transfer comes just one day after a major warning from the European Court of Justice. Advocate General Richard de la Tour stated that while EU states can declare third countries as “safe,” they must publicly disclose the sources used to justify such designations, something Italy has so far failed to do. A final ruling from the Court is expected by early summer.
- “There’s a climate of total opacity,” said Democratic MP Rachele Scarpa, who visited the Gjader facility earlier this month. “We don’t know who these people are, where they came from, or when they arrived.”
On the other hand, opposition figures are blasting the transfer as both unethical and ineffective. Riccardo Magi, leader of +Europa, didn’t mince words.
- “This is the most shameful flop of the Meloni government, an expensive, cruel propaganda stunt paid entirely by Italian taxpayers.”
- “The Albanian centers haven’t worked, don’t work, and won’t work,” Magi declared.
In conclusion, with tensions escalating and legal challenges looming, today’s transfer may be just the beginning of a far bigger storm. Human rights groups and EU officials are watching closely as Italy tests the outer limits of European migration law. For now, 40 people sit in an unfamiliar land—stripped of rights, far from home, and awaiting a return they never agreed to.
Written by our correspondent A.T.
