The issue of the de facto deprivation of liberty of foreign citizens at the Lampedusa hotspot is not new in the panorama of the devices used for the management of migration flows. Already with the judgment Khlaifia v. Italy, the Italian government was condemned for the arbitrary detention of foreign citizens in the Rescue and First Reception Centre (Cspa) of Contrada Imbriacola in Lampedusa and on board the ships Vincent and Audacia and for the absence of effective legal remedies against such detention and its conditions.
At different times and in different contexts, faced with the systematic closure of the entrance gate, which is subject to surveillance by the military and public security authorities, in some circumstances the only possible reaction by the illegally detained foreign citizens was to use informal and all but protective means of exit, namely an opening in the perimeter fence[1].
It’s a precarious modality that clearly does not guarantee in any way the exercise of the indispensable right to personal freedom. In the face of centre’s closure, a modality discretely tolerated by the competent authorities according to the contingent needs of containment and even claimed to disprove that the stay at the Lampedusa hotspot of foreign citizens arriving on the territory was in fact a detention. A narrative, that of the competent authorities, completely distorted by the Prefect of Agrigento, as reported by the National Guarantor of the rights of persons deprived of their liberty in the 2017 Report on visits to the Identification and Expulsion Centres and Hotspots in Italy. Asked why people were not allowed to leave the centre, he stated that “the island lives on tourism and their presence could create problems. However,” he added, “if they want, they can get out through a hole in the net”. Subsequently, in February 2018, a communication was sent from the Prefect to the then managing body asking them to put systems in place to allow asylum seekers to move freely. As analysed in the same year in the report “Scenari di frontiera: il caso Lampedusa” offered by In Limine project, “even though from the Prefect’s words it could seem that the presence of the openings in the fence is accepted by the authorities, the communications between the managing body and the Prefecture in order to close this opening and the subsequent maintenance works of the fence provide a clear indication of the constant intention to oppose the possibility of the migrants’ exit and actually keep them inside the centre “[2].
Today’s health emergency, confirming the detention nature of the hotspot, has amplified the situation of confinement to which foreign citizens are subjected inside the Lampedusa hotspot, where they generally remain for varying lengths of time. In the experience of the many cases followed by the In Limine project, confinement can range from 1 to 30 days (with an average stay of about 6-7 days), before being transferred to the places used for fiduciary isolation. In the meantime, they are subjected to control and restraint regimes that appear to be particularly strict, imposing a physical closure of the persons concerned through the set-up of surveillance devices and the reinstatement of the measure in case of attempted violations. In fact, surveillance and inspection activities in the surrounding area have been strengthened, with military garrisons in the hills surrounding the hotspot and patrols by the Carabinieri to counteract any attempt to violate the measure.
Moreover, according to the direct testimonies collected in the framework of the In Limine project by migrants present in the centre, not only the hotspot wouldn’t still have a system of regulation of exit and re-entry in the structure, but also the notorious “hole in the fence” would have been closed as part of the centre’s renovation works[3]. Although this could in no way be considered as a guarantee of the right to personal liberty, it represented for some people and in some circumstances a legitimate possibility to exercise their freedom fleetingly and “clandestinely” and to react to a totally illegitimate form of detention.
In this respect, it is recalled that the right to personal liberty is proper to each person and can be restricted only in the cases and in the ways provided by law, through a measure drafted and notified by the competent authority and validated by the judicial authority. Any other form of restriction of personal freedom should be considered arbitrary and in breach of Article 13 of the Constitution and Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Therefore, people would still be forced to live in the absence of adequate sanitary measures and inapplicable provisions to prevent contagion (e.g. social distancing), in inadequate material conditions, overcrowding and promiscuity, with peaks of more than 1 000 people against the current capacity of 250 places. In addition, there’s a lack of services in the centre, which does not seem to guarantee the protection of human dignity and respect for basic needs.
Below we share the photo testimonies received from the detainees:
Esterno Hotspot
Esterno Hotspot
Esterno Hotspot
Esterno Hotspot
Esterno Hotspot
Esterno Hotspot
Esterno Hotspot
Esterno Hotspot
[1] See: https://www.asgi.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/2018-Lampedusa_scenari-_di_frontiera_versione-corretta.pdf; https://inlimine.asgi.it/hotspot-di-lampedusa-nuovi-riscontri-sulla-detenzione-arbitraria-dei-cittadini-stranieri/; https://inlimine.asgi.it/hotspot-di-lampedusa-si-teme-che-i-migranti-della-mare-jonio-siano-detenuti-arbitrariamente/; https://inlimine.asgi.it/report-ombre-in-frontiera-limiti-e-ostacoli-allaccesso-ai-diritti-ai-confini-italiani/;
[2] See: https://www.asgi.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/2018-Lampedusa_scenari-_di_frontiera_versione-corretta.pdf, p. 13. For further details, see the communications, obtained by In Limine through generalised civic access, sent by the managing body (Italian Red Cross) to the Prefecture of Agrigento aimed at repairing the perimeter fence: Communication stitching11 January 2018, Communication stitching 27 February 2018, Communication stitching 12 April 2018.
[3] On 01/12/2020, a press release was published on Invitalia’s website declaring that the ordinary and extraordinary maintenance works and the upgrading of systems in the A1, A2 and U1 buildings of the hotspot had been completed. These upgrades should allow for an additional 130 places to be made available. In addition, a negotiated procedure was awarded for further maintenance and adaptation works at the centre.