On Wednesday (November 29), the court in Strasbourg found Italy guilty of inhumane and degrading treatment of the four underage migrants.

They were held for nearly four months in an adult hosting center in the southern Puglia city of Taranto shortly after their May 2017 arrival, although they had declared they were minors.

The center, originally built to house 400 people, was at the time hosting 1,419 migrants in inadequate hygiene conditions.

Italy ordered to pay 6,500 euros for moral damages, 4,000 euros in legal expenses

The court ruled the four minors were forcibly held at the center without explanation and without being able to appeal the decision.

Italy will have to pay €6,500 ($7,082) in compensation to each plaintiff for moral damages and an additional €4,000 ($4,358) for legal expenses.

The sentence does not reveal many details concerning the four migrants. The court doesn't identify them, only their country of birth -- Ghana -- and their year of birth, 2000.

The four plaintiffs reached Italy on a rickety boat on May 22, 2017, and stayed at the Taranto hotspot until mid-July. After appealing for help to the court in Strasbourg, they were transferred to facilities for minors.

The original case included another nine underage migrants, but the attorney representing the four plaintiffs said he had lost contact with them between March and April 2020.

The court eliminated them from the final sentence and canceled their appeals.

The four migrants provided evidence, including photos

In finding Italy guilty of inhumane treatment of the unaccompanied minors at the hotspot in Taranto, ECHR cited evidence provided by the four plaintiffs, including photos showing overcrowding at the centre and poor hygiene.

The court stated that the Italian government did not deny the evidence but explained that on May 22 and 26, 2017, two large groups of migrants had arrived, including 202 minors, making the situation particularly difficult to manage.