Italy under fire for deporting migrants

Italy deported dozens more third world immigrants to Libya yesterday, brushing off accusations it was violating international law by failing to give them time to apply for refugee status.

Faced with record numbers of would-be asylum seekers flooding its southern islands, Italian authorities flew some 100 new arrivals to Libya yesterday following the deportation of about 500 at the weekend.

Authorities say most of the illegal immigrants come from impoverished sub-Saharan Africa or Palestine and use Libya only as a stepping stone towards a better life in Europe.

The United Nations, Amnesty International and Doctors without Borders all criticised the airlift, but Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government said it was seeking to deter human trafficking and acting within its rights.

"The assault on the Italian coast is organised by criminal gangs who ruthlessly cash in on illegal immigration," Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said in a statement.

However, a host of aid agencies, opposition politicians and even some members of Mr Berlusconi's own coalition said instant deportation was not the way forward.

"Many of the men and women coming to Italy undertake extremely dangerous trips to flee war and persecution," said Stefano Savi, the head of Doctors without Borders in Italy.

"This forced and arbitrary return represents an extremely serious violation of the law and it could seriously endanger the lives of some of these foreigners," he added in a statement which was also signed by Amnesty International.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) demanded access to the migrants before they were deported. "Everyone who asks for exile has to have access to fair procedures aimed at checking any eventual need for protection under the terms of the 1951 Convention for Refugees," UNHCR's Europe director, Raymond Hall, said in a statement.

A flotilla of small boats packed with illegal immigrants has washed ashore in Italy over the past month, with almost 1,500 people arriving in the last five days alone on the tiny southern island of Lampedusa.

Italy believes many set sail from Libya and has reached a deal with Tripoli to ship back undisclosed numbers of migrants, hoping this will deter others.

Illegal immigration is a hot political issue in Italy and Mr Berlusconi's centre-right administration has enacted tough laws to stem the flow. It has repatriated hundreds of migrants this year, but the flights to Libya caused widespread disquiet.