Italy sends first asylum seekers to Albania

The first migrants to be diverted by Italy to Albania arrived at the port of Shengjin.

It set in motion the first scheme by an EU state to transfer asylum seekers to another nation.

Under the controversial deal, Italy built two reception centers in Albania, with the government hoping the process will deter migrants from entering Italy in the first place.

Sixteen migrants, comprising ten Bangladeshis and six Egyptians, were escorted from the Italian navy ship Libra to one of the port’s reception centers.

Rights groups oppose the deal, saying it restricts migrants' right to asylum.

Marta Welander is from the International Rescue Committee.

“There are a number of groups who should be exempted from this deal. So the elderly, unaccompanied children and those who have survived torture and trafficking and so forth. But we are concerned that there are no guarantees for ensuring that they are indeed exempted from this and they could instead end up in prison-like conditions outside of EU territory.”

Rising tension in Europe over migration issues has seen many nations, including Germany and Poland, propose or adopt tougher policies.

The UK's previous government had planned to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda - which Prime Minister Keir Starmer scrapped after taking office in July.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said this week that her country was setting an example for the rest of Europe with the Albanian scheme.

But a small group of Albanian human rights protesters demonstrated against the new scheme, saying it ends their belief that Europe is a place “of democracy, of values, of human rights.”

The migrants will be sent either to Italy if their asylum request is granted, or to their home country if rejected.