The death of a Georgian migrant in a repatriation center in the town of Gradisca, northeastern Italy, has sparked outrage. Witnesses say that the man had been brutally beaten by ten policemen but what actually happened has not yet been ascertained. An investigation is underway for alleged murder.
The first regional center for migrant repatriation on the Italian island of Sardiania opened on Monday. The facility is located in the town of Macomer, where dozens of migrants arrived recently.
Roman Catholic priest Father Mussie Zerai, president of the humanitarian organization Habeshia and pastor to migrants who try to arrive in Italy, sent out a dramatic 'SOS' from migrants allegedly being held in detention centers in Libya.
On January 10 a statement from UNHCR Libya confirmed that the UN Refugee Agency was "deeply saddened by the deaths of two Eritrean asylum seekers in Tripoli, Libya." The men are believed to have been shot inside their accommodation.
Norway says it will take 600 asylum seekers recently evacuated to Rwanda from Libyan detention centers. The Norwegian immigration minister told media that his country wants to stop the sometimes deadly smuggling of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea.
A recent report released by the Council of Europe has called on the Danish government to improve the conditions in two of its migrant detention centers.
The European Union started pouring money to Libya to improve the conditions in the detention centers and to stop the flow of migrants to Europe. But an Associated Press (AP) investigation has found that parts of these funds have facilitated an intertwined and highly lucrative web of businesses that thrive on the misery of migrants in Libya.
Germany's federal police chief said a lack of pre-deportation facilities is hampering the deportation of rejected asylum seekers and illegal foreigners to third-countries.
A new CPR center, where migrants are detained while they await deportation, has opened in Gradisca d'Isonzo, in northeastern Italy, near the border with Slovenia. The facility can host up to 150 people.
In Libya, traffickers allegedly make migrants pay for a place in a closed detention center. They claim this is a fast-track method for the migrants to be evacuated and resettled in Europe. This information is false, but several hundred people have already fallen victim to the scam.
According to the UN refugee agency, the Gathering and Departure Facility in the capital of Libya is so overcrowded that it can no longer functions as a transit center for vulnerable migrants.
The number of migrants and refugees stuck on the Greek islands has peaked at above 40,000. The Greek government hopes that the introduction of new laws next year will help bring the numbers down — by deporting many asylum seekers back to Turkey.