published my translation of a press release by Human Rights Watch, can be found on their website. Long live the expulsions!
Italy: Expulsion of Tunisian violated the European Convention of Human Rights
(New York, August 5, 2009) - The expulsion from Italy of a Tunisian national suspected of terrorism to a country where real risk of torture is the latest example of how it pokes fun of the absolute prohibition of such refunds, Human Rights Watch said today. Italy has given Ali Ben Sassi Toumi Tunisia to August 2, 2009, despite the repeated rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, which require the suspension of the expulsion until the Court fully investigate the instance that the risk of claims torture or other ill-treatment in the event that the Tunisian was returned.
Toumi is the third terror suspect that the Italian government has sent in Tunisia in ultimi 20 mesi, in violazione agli ordini della Corte Europea di sospendere queste deportazioni. Le misure cautelari della Corte - sentenze temporanee in attesa del giudizio finale - sono pienamente vincolanti, e il loro mancato rispetto da parte dell'Italia viola la Convenzione Europea dei Diritti dell'Uomo e altri obblighi previsti nel diritto internazionale.
"Con l'espulsione di Ali Ben Sassi Toumi l'Italia ha ancora una volta mostrato totale disprezzo per i suoi obblighi internazionali sui diritti umani", ha affermato Letta Tayler, ricercatrice della Sezione Terrorismo e Antiterrorismo di Human Rights Watch. "La Tunisia ha un elenco lungo e ben documentato di torture e abusi di prigionieri, quindi questa espulsione viola chiaramente sia gli ordini suspension of the European Court, is the fundamental prohibition of drawback in case of risk of torture. "
terrorist suspects and other prisoners for reasons of national security in Tunisia are particularly at risk of torture, prolonged detention and unfair legal proceedings, Human Rights Watch said.
Toumi climbed on the roof of a detention center for deportation and threatened suicide if the authorities have informed, Aug. 1, that would have sent back to Tunisia, told Human Rights Watch his Italian lawyer Barbara Manara. The authorities have cheated with a false promise, saying it would not be deported, said the lawyer. Toumi is not resident in Italy, but is married to an Italian woman with whom he has three children.
"Italy Toumi has put at serious risk of torture. Now he must take every possible measure to ensure its protection and to end its continuing lack of respect for the European Court and international standards on fundamental human rights," Letta Tayler said. "For any abuse suffered by Toumi in Tunisia, Italy is equally responsible."
Toumi, 44, sentenced in absentia in Tunisia to a charge of forgery, was last heard from his wife when he sent a text message the night of Aug. 2 when he arrived at the airport of Tunis. He was expelled from Italy after serving a sentence of six years in an Italian prison for conviction of association with a terrorist cell linked to al-Qaeda. The Italian authorities have stated that the reason is that the expulsion Toumi is still a threat to national security. The European Court of Human Rights has issued several rulings on May 18, May 19 and June 24 this year that it planned to delay his deportation.
This deportation comes after repeated rulings of the European Court against expulsion from Italy of other Tunisians suspected terrorists to their country of origin. In February 2008, the Grand Chamber of the Court held, in the case of Nassim Saadi - another Tunisian that Italy had tried to send back to Tunisia - the absolute prohibition to expel individuals to countries where there are risks for them to torture or cruel treatment. The Court held that attempts to deport Saadi, who resided legally in Italy, were in breach of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 3 prohibits torture and ill-treatment and contains the absolute prohibition to expel any person to countries where they are at risk of these treatments.
Italy has deported Saadi. However, he expelled two other suspected terrorists Tunisian, Essid Sami Ben Khemais and Mourad Trabelsi, respectively in June and December of 2008, despite the requests of the European Court for venisse loro concesso di rimanere in Italia fino a quando la Corte non avesse pienamente esaminato i loro casi. I due individui stanno scontando le loro sentenze in Tunisia per accuse di associazione terroristica, dopo essere stati condannati dalle corti militari.
La Corte Europea aveva risposto nel febbraio del 2009 condannando l'espulsione di Khemais da parte dell'Italia sulla base della violazione degli articoli 3 e 34 della Convenzione Europea dei Diritti dell'Uomo. L'Articolo 34 assicura il diritto effettivo di ricorso alla Corte. Da allora, la Corte Europea ha emesso sentenze su altri nove casi per cui l'Italia violerebbe nuovamente l'Articolo 3 della Convenzione se mettesse in atto ordini di espulsioni contro altri sospetti terroristi tunisini.
"La Corte Europea ha detto 10 volte all'Italia che le restituzioni verso la Tunisia non sono sicure", ha affermato Tayler. "È giunto il momento che l'Italia dia retta alle decisioni della Corte e cessi immediatamente tutti i tentativi di deportare sospetti terroristi verso la Tunisia finché la Corte non abbia emesso una sentenza finale sui loro casi".
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