On Thursday 15th September, a delegation of 12 MEPs of the LIBE Committee of the EU Parliament made a fact-finding visit to detention facilities on the Italian island of Lampedusa.

The MEPs who took part in the visit were:
M. Stefano ZAPPALA, Vice-président LIBE, MEP, PPE/DE
M. Agustin DIAZ DE MERA, MEP, PPE/DE
M. Patrick GAUBERT, MEP, PPE/DE
Mme Martine ROURE, MEP, PSE
M. Wolfgang Kreissl-Dörfler MEP, PSE
Mme Jeanine HENNIS-PLASSCHAERT, MEP, ALDE
Mme Jean LAMBERT, MEP, Verts
M. Giovanni Claudio FAVA, MEP, PSE
M. Giusto CATANIA, MEP, GUE
M. Mario BORGHEZIO, MEP, ID )
Mme Kathalijne BUITENWEG, MEP, Verts
M. Romano Maria LA RUSSA, MEP UEN

The MEPs reported that when they visited the centre, there were only eleven detainees being held. It seemed that the centre had been cleaned before the visit, as was the case on a previous visit lead by a delegation of the GUE/NGL group (Confederal Group of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left) on June 28th 2005.

The MEPs expressed a number of  concerns after the visit: that there is a risk of collective expulsions occurring to Libya and Egypt without proper assessment of each individual case; that people who were judged to be of Egyptian origin after a short interview were systematically deported; that there was a lack of information and legal assistance; that the facilities are of poor quality and do not guarantee good levels of hygiene; that the length of detention in Lampedusa is very long in some cases. The delegation met a Tunisian who said he had been detained there for four months.

The MEPs reached the following conclusions:

         At Lampedusa there is a fear of collective expulsions;
         The living conditions in the centre are very poor;
         There is a lack of transparency in the Italian authorities;
         That the delegation will ask the EU Commission to make a report on its recent visit to Libya which was made in order to
            assess the living conditions of the country's detention centres.

Full text of report [IN FRENCH]