28/09 – 12/10
- Migrants and asylum seekers who have been tested positive to COVID-19, and already hosted in reception centres across Italy, have been transferred to the quarantine boats. Many appeals have been raised against this unlawful, discriminatory and illegal practice by numerous civil society organisations (testimonies from ARCI, ASGI, MSF and LasciateCIEntrare).
- The dire conditions inside the quarantine boats are extremely worrying. On 1 October 2020, 5 Tunisian migrants tried to escape when the quarantine boat arrived in the port of Palermo, 2 fell down on the pier and injured themselves. On 5 October 2020, a 15-year-old migrant died after been evacuated from the quarantine boat Allegra: he had passed out after he was kept on the boat for 15 days despite his very serious health conditions. Italian prosecutors are investigating his tragic death.
- Italy-Libya: An investigation by the New York Times revealed how the Caprera, an Italian warship, which was deployed to Tripoli to help combat people-smugglers in Libya, stopped 7,000 migrants from leaving Libyan shores, and prevented the smuggling of 700,000 cigarettes to Italy.
- Italy-Tunisia: Italian and Tunisian associations requested access to documents of the agreement concluded on 17 August 2020 as the details of this agreement were not published. According to press reports discussing the agreement, Italy is to provide 11 million euros of support to Tunisia in order to strengthen the border control systems. These funds may also be used to better train Tunisian security forces in preventing the departure of migrants and in intercepting ships in Tunisian territorial waters.