Police in Australia have charged an Iraqi man with organizing a "people-smuggling venture" that led to more than 350 asylum seekers drowning at sea. The ill-fated boat sank in international waters in 2001.
The UK is one of few countries in Europe to implement a de facto policy of indefinite detention for immigration cases. The Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group (GDWG) is one group calling for an to end that policy. It was set up almost 25 years ago in Crawley near Gatwick Airport. As well as campaigning, its volunteers visit those in detention and try and provide help in their cases.
Italian authorities have detained two migrants who were onboard Italian coast guard ship Bruno Gregoretti. The migrants are suspected of being the smugglers operating a boat on which the rescued migrants were travelling.
Domenico Lucano was the mayor of the Calabrian town of Riace for 15 consecutive years. He became world-famous for his migrant-hosting and integration policies. In October 2018, he was suspended and forbidden from returning to the town while investigations against him were underway. Now the latest trial against him has begun in the municipal court in Locri.
In Austria, asylum judges who mostly hear appeals from men are more lenient towards women appearing in court. A recent study has also found that female judges are more likely than male judges to grant asylum.
The German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia has deported three men from Bosnia Herzegovina, who had been classified as Islamist threats.
Italian anti-mafia investigators,(DDA) have arrested 13 suspects as part of an operation against an alleged Nigerian mafia gang. The gang is accused of managing a human trafficking and prostitution ring. Police said aspiring members had to take part in brutal “initiation rites” to become part of the gang.
The highest Italian court of cassation has ruled that Riace Mayor Domenico Lucano did not commit fraud. The judges also annulled the residency ban against Lucano in Riace.
The Association for Legal Studies on Immigration (ASGI) has announced that the first appeals by foreigners living in Italy will soon be filed against the ''discriminatory'' nature of a basic income introduced in the country.
Authorities in Greece are being sued over the death of a migrant on Lesbos. It is the first time anyone has demanded compensation for the conditions suffered by refugees on the island.
Persons who have been granted protection in Germany will have to actively provide information and help in other ways as well when their cases are reassessed. Before this recent change to the law, asylum seekers did not have to partake in such procedures.
A trial of 32 guards and workers accused of abusing refugees and migrants at a reception center in 2014 has started. The case in the small western town of Burbach has triggered widespread outrage and has forced regional governments to reassess the standards at such facilities.