ROME — The Italian government said Thursday that the return of 227 migrants to Libya before they could land in Italy should be adopted as the new model for dealing with illegal immigration and be extended to the rest of Europe.
“For the first time we have affirmed the principle of repulsion in Mediterranean waters to the country from which the migrants had left, not their country of origin,” Interior Minister Roberto Maroni told reporters at a news conference Thursday afternoon in Rome.
“Today, in the name of all countries of the European Union, we have developed a new model to fight clandestine immigration — that is, to repulse at sea all those who try to enter illegally.”
On Wednesday, Italian ships intercepted three boatloads of migrants in Maltese waters. The migrants were transferred to an Italian ship, and at 8:15 Thursday morning they were returned to Tripoli, from where they had left earlier this week.
The operation was the result of 12 months of diplomatic negotiations between Italy and Libya, and the actions early Thursday were closely coordinated with Libya, Mr. Maroni said. The Maltese government was also apprised of the operation, because the interception took place in Maltese waters.
Mr. Maroni said such interceptions at sea and the return to the country where the boats originated was the “rule that we want to apply from today on.”
Mr. Maroni said he would discuss the matter further with Jacques Barrot, vice president of the European Commission for justice, freedom and security.
“I want this to become the European model,” Mr. Maroni said. “I think this can be applied to all European countries.”
Human rights groups raised a chorus of criticism Thursday, charging that the measure violated international law.
Until now, immigrants whose boats were intercepted would be taken ashore to be identified and receive medical attention. Also, refugees were allowed to apply for asylum.
By not allowing the boats to arrive in Italy, the Italian government is denying refugees the right to seek asylum, critics said.
“Sending potential asylum seekers back to a country that has not signed the Geneva Convention is a violation of every human rights accord that we’ve had in Europe” since the end of World War II, said Bruce Leimsidor, a professor of immigration law at the University of Venice.
Libya has not signed the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention, and does not have a national asylum system in place.
Mr. Maroni said at the news conference that migrants who managed to arrive in Italy would be allowed to remain and apply for asylum. Those intercepted and sent back to Libya, however, would be dealt with by human rights groups “who deal with these sorts of things.”
Next Thursday, Italy and Libya will also begin joint patrols at sea, a measure that Mr. Maroni says will “drastically reduce” illegal immigration to Italy.
In a statement, the United Nations refugee agency on Thursday expressed “deep concern” for the people who were sent back, and criticized Italy for the “lack of transparency which surrounded the event.” Italian authorities did not make public the nationalities of the people on board.
“Last year, 75 percent of those who arrived in Italy from the sea applied for asylum, and some form of protection was granted in 50 percent of the time,” said Laura Boldrini, a spokeswoman in Rome for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. “So the chances are high that there would have been asylum seekers among the bunch.”
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