Apostolic, for the judge, freed migrants do not necessarily flee

Anyone could have predicted that, once released from the Pozzallo Repatriation Center, they would disappear. It is not necessary to be particularly perceptive or informed to know that migrants disappear quickly, especially if they have good reason to believe that their asylum application will be rejected. However, judge Iolanda Apostolico, a magistrate from Catania who in the last two weeks freed eight Tunisians from the CPR of Pozzallo, does not consider this to be at all a given. According to the magistrate, it cannot be predicted a priori that they will disappear, as promptly happened with the first four migrants released on September 29th.
In the reasons for the sentences of 11 October, with which he rejected the validation of the CPR detention of the other four Tunisians, this concept clearly expresses. We read, in fact, that “for an asylum seeker no automatic connection can be made between the lack of documents, or the lack of economic resources, and the intention to become undetectable and escape the effects of the possible rejection of the application, and It cannot be said that, in these cases, the only appropriate measure to prevent this danger is detention.”

What are these alternative measures to CPR detention? «The obligation to remain in a previously identified location, where he can be easily located», or «the obligation to present himself, on established days and times, to a territorially competent public force body». Meanwhile, the League, which in recent days called for Apostolico’s resignation, continues to call for a change of course. «We learned that the first four Tunisians that the Apostolic Judge allowed to leave the CPR of Pozzallo had their asylum requests rejected and have now become undetectable, declares deputy Simonetta Matone – With the consequence that at the moment there are four people in the whole of Italy with zero possibility of accelerating his expulsion. Further proof of the failure of judicial policies designed to delegitimize the government, regardless of the rules implemented to combat illegal immigration. Absurd how the magistrate of Catania, with a disposition full of inaccuracies and by no means a masterpiece of the law, did not consider it legitimate to protect Italians and guarantee the security of our territory.” While my colleague Stefano Candiani highlights how it is “very convenient to pass sentences and offload the burden on the community. The issue of civil liability of magistrates and the need for serious justice reform is back in the news.”

The first initiative of the Guardian of the Seals Carlo Nordio fits into this context, explaining that «following four parliamentary questions, as it was my duty to answer, I gave a mandate to the competent departments of the Ministry to acquire press articles and publications on related social networks to the judge of Catania, Iolanda Apostolico. This is not an inspection nor the beginning of disciplinary action.” The political effect is the raising of the shield by the opposition. The secretary of +Europe Riccardo Magi speaks of an «intimidating action»: «The Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio, by order de Salvini, prepares a preliminary investigation against judge Apostolico. If confirmed, this news would be very serious: on what basis did Nordio order this action?”. Remember that Apostolico participated in the past in a demonstration to call for the disembarkation of migrants on board a Coast Guard ship on which the police were insulted and published a petition on their social media profile to disqualify the then Minister of the Interior Salvini.

Source: IL Tempo

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