According to reporting by Italian news agency ANSA, two groups that advocate for Italy’s penitentiary police issued a statement on August 31, stating that their members were “stunned by the report of a measure” that involved the government’s decision to transfer about fifty units with different roles and qualifications to Albania.
Under an agreement between the leaders of Italy and Albania, this deployment is a part of an international mission that involves contentious rules of engagement that have not been discussed with the unions. The agreement was signed by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to construct two migrant hosting facilities in Albania for the detention of migrants trying to enter Italy by sea while their asylum claims are being investigated.
The Italian cabinet will cover the cost of the centers, which are scheduled to open this month.The mission takes place “when Italy is registering a population of over 62,000 detainees against a capacity of 44,000 beds and a police corps lacking 20,000 officers, with 10,700 wounded officers and many riots, protest attempts, hundreds of episodes of self-harm and the suicides of 67 detainees and seven police officers,” said the statement.
“What appears to be taking shape in Albania is a facility that disturbingly reminds us of prison camps,” the two unions continued. They said, “And now there’s talk of sending the green berets,” or police officers who fight terrorism financing, “to patrol this complex.”
Based on an earlier cooperation treaty between the two nations, the agreement calls for the establishment of two migrant repatriation centers on Albanian territory, which would be run and overseen by Italy in order to expedite the processing of asylum requests.
A portion of the migrants saved from the sea by Italian Navy ships will be sent to Albania, a non-EU nation Italy deems safe.