Italy

The world is reaping the terrifying consequences of hate-filled rhetoric that threatens to normalize massive discrimination against marginalized groups, Amnesty International warned today as it launched its annual assessment of human rights.

Nevertheless, the organization found that a growing movement of both first-time and seasoned activists campaigning for social justice provides real hope of reversing the slide towards oppression.

The report, The State of the World’s Human Rights, covers 159 countries and delivers the most comprehensive analysis of the state of human rights in the world today.

Photo Credit: Amnesty International / Catrinel Motoc

Download PDF of UA 146/17 Italy

146 Italy.pdf

Released 00:01 GMT 3 November 2016

The European Union’s pressure on Italy to “get tough” on refugees and migrants has led to unlawful expulsions and ill-treatment which in some cases may amount to torture, a new report from Amnesty International revealed today.

Beatings, electric shocks and sexual humiliation are among the numerous allegations of abuse documented in Hotspot Italy: How EU’s flagship approach leads to violations of refugee and migrant rights. The report demonstrates how the EU-sponsored ‘hotspot approach’ for processing refugees and migrants at the point of arrival is not only undermining their right to claim asylum but has fuelled appalling abuse.

“In their determination to reduce the onward movement of refugees and migrants to other member states, EU leaders have driven the Italian authorities to the limits – and beyond – of what is legal,” said Matteo de Bellis, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Italy. 

The latest capsizing of a boat carrying refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean – with hundreds of people feared dead – is a man-made tragedy that could well have been avoided, Amnesty International said.

A boat able to carry hundreds of refugees and migrants – according to the Italian coast guard - capsized this morning off the Libyan coast. The boat had sent a request for help to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Rome, which requested a Portuguese merchant vessel to attend the call.

So far, 28 people have been rescued and 24 bodies have been recovered, according to the coast guard. A rescue operation is currently ongoing with 17 ships involved as well as aircrafts.

“What we are witnessing in the Mediterranean is a man-made tragedy of appalling proportions. These latest deaths at sea come as a shock, but not a surprise,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Director for Europe and Central Asia.

The European Union and its member states must hang their heads in shame following reports this morning that as many as 300 migrants are believed to have died in the high seas off the Italian island of Lampedusa, said Amnesty International.

“This new tragedy realizes our worst fears about the end of Italy’s Mare Nostrum search and rescue operation and exposes the predictable consequences of the European Union’s failure to provide an adequate replacement,” said John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International.

“The humanitarian crisis that sparked the need for Mare Nostrum has not gone away. With people continuing to flee war and persecution, EU member states must stop burying their heads in the sand whilst hundreds keep dying at sea.”

The forced eviction of some 40 people – half of them young children, including several babies – from a Roma settlement in a Rome suburb this morning is a blatant violation of international human rights law and standards that has left numerous families homeless, Amnesty International said.

At around 7:30AM, local police and municipal authorities moved in on the makeshift camp of shacks and tents in the park of Val D’ala, in the Italian capital’s north-eastern suburbs. They quickly razed the settlement with bulldozers, leaving the dozens of Romanian Roma living there with no place to go.

“Today’s shocking demolition in Val D’ala is an eviction in violation of international human rights standards – leaving these people homeless and destitute. There was no formal advance notice of eviction or consultation with the community, and no suitable alternative housing has been offered,” said Matteo de Bellis, Amnesty International’s Italy Campaigner, who is currently with the community as they seek redress from municipal authorities.

The Italian President Giorgio Napolitano must reject a former CIA agent’s plea to be pardoned for a crime he committed in the country as part of the US-led rendition programme, Amnesty International said.

Robert Seldon Lady – who is now believed to be back in the USA – wrote to the Italian leader on Wednesday to request a pardon. An Italian court previously convicted him in absentia, sentencing him to nine years in prison for his role in the abduction of Abu Omar from Milan in 2003.

“This is someone who admits to taking part in a kidnapping operation that resulted in a man being sent to prison in Egypt, where he was tortured. Robert Seldon Lady has evaded justice for a decade, and letting him off the hook now would send a very dangerous message that there is no accountability for crimes that led to enforced disappearance and torture,” said Julia Hall, expert on counter-terrorism and human rights at Amnesty International.