Italy's 'Libra' vessel to arrive in Albania with just eight migrants on board

The clash between Italy's judiciary and the government over migrants continues. A court in Catania on Monday rejected the government's decree on "safe countries," before eight asylum seekers were sent to Albania on board the Italian ship 'Libra' on Wednesday morning.

The navy patrol vessel is scheduled to arrive at the port of Shengjin, on Albania's northern coast, on Thursday morning. The migrants will then be transferred to the repatriation centre in Gjader. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said on Wednesday that the decision to transfer the small number of people was conducted using "very strict operational procedures."

The news comes two days after judges in Catania and Rome ruled on the Meloni government's "safe countries" decree.

The Court of Catania did not validate the detention of three Egyptian and two Bangladeshi citizens who arrived in Pozzallo. The head of Catania's court, Massimo Escher, said that the list of safe countries drawn up by the government on 21 October "does not stop the judiciary from fulfilling its obligation to verify the consistency of such a move with European law," given the accelerated nature of the procedure that processes asylum seeker applications.

The Court of Justice of the European Court (CJEU) ruled on 4 October that many of the countries listed by Italy could not be considered fully safe. It pointed out that that Egypt cannot be considered safe given that serious human rights violations occur in the North African country, such as the death penalty, systematic torture by police, as well as violence and discrimination against women and minors.

But the Catania decision was not the only setback for the government. The Court of Rome suspended the denial of the asylum application of one