Second group of asylum seekers arrive in Albania on Italian naval ship

An Italian naval ship carrying eight people rescued near the island of Lampedusa docked at the Albanian port of Shengjin on Friday.

It was only the second group of migrants to arrive in the city as part of a deal between Rome and Tirana.

Under the agreement, people intercepted by the Italian coast guard are to be sheltered at two reception centres in Albania, with a cap of 3,000 at any one time.

Staffed by Italian personnel, the migrants are then vetted for possible asylum in Italy, failing which they will be sent back home.

But an initial group of 16 migrants taken to Albania last month were all moved to Italy within days, four of them because they were minors or had health issues.

A Rome court ruled that the other 12 could not be held in the Balkan nation because their countries of origin could not be classified as “safe” under European law.

As a result, their asylum applications could not be processed under a fast-track procedure in Albania.

The deal between Italy and Albania has been widely criticised by human rights groups as setting a dangerous precedent.