Rome, June 23 - Amnesty International on Monday issued a ringing condemnation of Italy's migrant holding compounds, warning that they violated international standards and urging the government to grant it access to the centres. In a new report, published on World Refugee Day, the London-based human rights organization highlighted consistent allegations of abuse within the so-called temporary stay and assistance centres (CPTAs). It also raised concerns over defects in the asylum application process and the detention policy itself.

Speaking at the presentation of the document, the head of Amnesty Italy Gabriele Eminente explained that while similar centres existed elsewhere in Europe, the Italian government's refusal to allow access to the CPTAs raised "particular concerns. Our research is being hindered by a lack of cooperation on the part of the government," he said, recalling that the interior ministry had turned down Amnesty's first request for access last year and had yet to respond to a second letter sent in March.

Alleged abuses in the centres, where foreigners can be held for up to 60 days while waiting for deportation, included staff attacks on detainees, the use of sedative drugs without consent, overcrowding, lack of medical care and difficulties accessing legal advice.

"In addition, Amnesty is concerned over recent allegations by foreign nationals that they were subjected to physical assaults and dangerous methods of restraint during deportation by air," said Nerys Lee, AI's researcher for Western Europe. She cited a Brazilian woman who claimed her mouth and nose had been covered with adhesive tape making it difficult to breathe, while her friend's head had been taped to an airline seat. An Ecuadorian man, who refused to board a plane, told AI he had been handcuffed, dragged on board and kicked and punched in the face until he was bleeding.

The report also contained details of two separate judicial proceedings against CPTA staff and police. In the Puglian town of Lecce, a CPTA director, six members of staff, 10 carabinieri officers and two doctors are standing trial on charges of physical and psychological abuse after detainees suffered extensive cuts and bruising, fractures and broken teeth.

"One man, after being spat at, slapped, beaten with a truncheon and force-fed raw pork [contrary to his religious beliefs], had his clothes taken off and was forced to stay in an outside courtyard in the winter cold for several hours," said the report.

Lee admitted that the government's refusal to allow AI to visit and the restricted access for other sector experts meant that the organization was not "in a position to confirm the veracity of all the allegations coming to its attention". But, she pointed out, nor was it in a position to confirm the government's claims that the situation had improved inside the centres. Furthermore, she added, "the number, consistency and regularity of the allegations emerging from the CPTAs, taken together with the conclusions of international governmental bodies and other reputable, international and domestic NGOs has led Amnesty to believe there is substantial cause for concern about the situation".

The Amnesty document also criticized flaws in the asylum application process and the mass deportation of irregular migrants to Libya, which has not signed the Geneva Convention on human rights. The organization said the deportations suggested that asylum requests were not being considered on a case-by-case basis. It cited reports of applications being automatically rejected on the basis of nationality or even suspected nationality.

Finally, Amnesty warned that the practice of detaining migrants was itself a cause for concern. "Under international refugee standards, asylum-seekers should only be detained in exceptional circumstances," said Lee. "Detention is an extreme sanction for people who haven't committed a criminal offence, and who may have already undergone the trauma of detention without charge or trial in their own country.

"With regard to irregular migrants [...] detention should only be used when there is evidence to suggest that alternatives won't be effective in the individual case, when there is an objective risk of the individual absconding."

The CPTAs have been at the centre of mounting unrest in Italy, with escape attempts, demonstrations both inside and outside the centres, and frequent calls from the opposition for them to be closed down. Police unions, lawyers, pastoral workers, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the European Court of Human Rights and the European Parliament have also expressed concern.


But Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing government, which has pursued a determined anti-immigration policy since coming to power in 2001, insists that the centres are vital to public order. "Illegal immigrants are a major contributor to our black labour market, prostitution and crime," said Italian Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu. "Anyone saying that our borders should be indiscriminately opened and the holding centres closed in the face of the serious [immigrant] threat is just plain irresponsible."