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Vulnerable Asylum Seeker Subjected to Informal Pushback
The respondent is a 21-year-old Somali man who had been living in Puglia, Italy, for one year and nine months as an asylum seeker. He reports that he was stopped at the French border while attempting to enter France, where he also expressed his intention to seek asylum. From the moment we met him (at the bus stop on the Italian side of the border, after the pushback), he appeared confused and particularly vulnerable. He stated that he suffers from a head condition and a heart problem and that he had previously undergone medical surgeries.
Centre de coopération de police et de dogana. Location where the detention and pushback took place.
He encountered the French border authorities upon arrival at the border area and was taken to a police station for identification procedures. Shortly after arriving at the station, he was transported by ambulance to a hospital in France due to his health condition. After medical examination, the ambulance returned him to the police station. He was then interviewed by the authorities; however, his request for asylum in France was not taken into consideration. His fingerprints were taken during this process. There is no indication that he was properly informed of his rights or provided with clear information regarding the procedure.
Hospital Center La Palmosa, Menton. Location of the hospital
The following morning, he was released back onto Italian territory without receiving any official documents, neither concerning his detention nor regarding his expressed intention to seek asylum in France. He was not informed of his rights or of any available remedies, and was left without assistance and without personal documentation.
We later encountered him at the bus stop for Ventimiglia with nothing but the hospital wristband still on his wrist.
We later encountered him at the bus stop for Ventimiglia with nothing but the hospital wristband still on his wrist.
overview
1 people ,
from Somalia,
aged 21.