Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> JURIST - The Paper Chase

Legal News

: JURIST - The Paper Chase

Europe rights court dismisses complaint against Italy by Palestinian immigrants

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday dismissed a suit against Italy by Palestinian immigrants alleging illegal expulsion from the country. In a statement explaining its decision, the court questioned the existence of at least 34 of the 84 immigrants, and was unable to locate 57 of the individuals. Regarding the 14 individuals who were known to have been expelled to Libya, the court said, "the expulsion order against each one of them had been individually endorsed by a district court following a hearing held in the presence of a lawyer and an interpreter." Reaction to the news was mixed, with some hailing the result as a showing that the original immigration by the individuals was illegal, and others expressing concern over a culture of insensitivity towards the suffering of others. Illegal immigration is a growing problem in Italy, where about 36,000 illegal immigrants arrived by boat in 2008. Earlier this month, a group of African immigrants was evacuated from the town of Rosarno after violence was directed towards migrant farm workers there. In August, rights groups criticized Italy for returning a suspected terrorist to Tunisia, disregarding obligations imposed by the ECHR. In July, the Italian Senate approved a law that would criminalize illegal immigration with a fine of between 5,000 and 10,000 euros and up to 6 months detention before deportation.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on January 20, 2010 (boomark / email).