Italian Court Rejects Sicily Anti-migrant Order

Rome, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Aug, 2020 ) :An Italian court Thursday slapped down a decree issued by Sicily's right-leaning leader Nello Musumeci ordering the closure of migrant centres on the island to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The Sicilian regional administrative court approved an appeal lodged by the central government in Rome for Sunday's decree to be scrapped, the AGI news agency reported.

Musumeci had clashed with officials in Rome but anti-migrant former interior minister Matteo Salvini had praised the move ahead of a flurry of local elections next month.

The Sicilian leader had ordered that all migrants on the island's "hot spots" and reception centres be transferred to facilities outside the island.

Musumeci's decree also banned any migrant from "entering, transiting and stopping over on the Sicilian region's territory with vessels big and small, including those belonging to charities.

" But the court disagreed, saying "there was no rigorous investigation to demonstrate that the spread of Covid-19 was worsening among the local population because of the migration phenomenon." The measures announced by Musumeci, who was elected on a right-wing ticket, "seemed to go beyond the scope of the powers conferred upon regions," in managing the coronavirus crisis, the court said.

Migration has for years been a hot-button political issue in Italy, a main EU landing point for people crossing the Mediterranean and arriving in Sicily and sister island Lampedusa.

The court will now convene again on September 17 at Sicily's request which is planning to present new evidence to boost its case.

Dozens of migrants hosted on Sicily however have tested positive for Covid-19 in recent weeks.