The Italian repatriation center (CPR) in Gjader, Albania, has been visited by the detainees watchdog for the Lazio region and the guarantor of rights for detained people. Following the visit, the watchdog stated that he believed the transfer of migrants to the center was "unjustified."
Stefano Anastasia works as the detainees watchdog for Italy's Lazio region. On July 30, he visited the Gjader repatriation center (CPR) alongside Valentina Calderone Rights Guarantor for detained people for the city of Rome.
The two officials monitored the space available at the center, services and procedures. They also met with and spoke to all the migrants currently hosted at the facility in Albania.
According to a report on another Italian news agency, Agenzia Nova, the migrants detained at the moment come mostly from Algeria, Senegal, Ghana, Pakistan and India.
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'Difficulties for relations and healthcare assistance risks'
According to Anastasia, "the extremely limited number of people currently present in the Gjader repatriation center, only 27, alongside the availability of places in the centers across the (Italian) national territory, renders the transfer to Albania of these people unjustified."
The watchdog made these comments after his first visit to the CPR alongside Calderone.
"We were able to verify that the human, professional, and financial resources available to the managing body at the moment enable adequate treatment for detainees. Of course, there are difficulties linked to relations with their family members and lawyers due to their placement in a center on Albanian territory and potential risks for healthcare assistance, in the case of services offered within the center itself not being sufficient. There is also no opportunity for activities in the long days inside the CPR," the watchdogs noted.
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Gjader CPR in numbers
Since the Gjader center began to be used as a CPR in April this year, 140 people have transited through it and 113 exited.
Forty due to the non-authorization of their detention, 37 due to repatriation, 15 due to their being medically unfit for detention, and seven because of having had their request for international protection granted or for other reasons, such as the transfer to other centers or the suspension of their deportation orders, the watchdogs said.
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