In 2021, during an attempt to cross the Mediterranean to reach Italy, Adam and 170 other migrants were pushed back to Libya. This pushback was carried out by the cargo ship Vos Triton (flying the Gibraltar flag) and by Libyan militiamen, with covert coordination and substantial support by the Italian authorities.
After years of legal battles, a judge has finally recognized Italy’s responsibility for the pushback, finding that the Italian authorities provided the so called Libyan coastguard with satellite coordinates for Adam’s boat, and failed to prevent the pushback.
The judge acknowledged the stark reality of life in Libya for migrants: a country in which they have no rights and are at constant risk of deportation or arbitrary detention, in centres where migrants face systematic torture and abuse. The judge stated that the Italian government must have been perfectly aware of the risks faced by migrants in Libya at the time of the pushback. The court order required the Italian government to issue Adam with an entry visa, allowing him to escape the dangers of Libya and reach Italy, for his claim for asylum to be considered in a safe country.
The day Adam arrived in Rome, his life changed forever. His story is one of many that reveal the dark side of European migration policies. His case has a happy ending; so many more do not. Adam, 29, is a Sudanese refugee who had fled the conflict in his country. After arriving in Libya in 2018, he tried several times to escape by sea, but each time he was caught and taken back. Adam found new hope in May 2023, when our volunteers were investigating a pushback case from June 2021 and managed to trace some of the victims, among them Adam.
A legal and investigative team, made up of lawyers, journalists and activists, began working to bring the truth to light. The evidence, collected thanks to Sea Watch’s aerial surveillance and Alarm Phone records, allowed Adam’s lawyers to demonstrate the involvement of Italy in this refoulement of 170 people, a gross human rights violation. The judge found Italy responsible for the rights violation and ordered the Italian government to issue Adam a visa to allow him to enter Italy safely to allow him to seek asylum.
In the early afternoon of Sunday, March 23, 2025, Adam landed in Italy, carrying nothing but the clothes he was wearing and a copy of the court order in his case. After a lengthy police check, he walked out of the arrivals exit, to be greeted by a warm welcome from us! Thanks to Baobab he has a place to stay – they are hosting him and have included him in a reception project.
The decision of the Rome court represents an important step towards justice, paving the way for future legal actions that can help to stop the system of illegal pushbacks and uphold the right to asylum as an inviolable value.
On the JL Project website, there are hundreds of similar cases of illegal pushback involving Frontex and the Italian government. Most of them are waiting for someone to investigate them and to reach out to the victims to help them seek justice.
The JL Project
Website – jlproject.org
Blog – Saritalibre.it
