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Rome judges on Monday rejected the detention of a second group of migrants transferred to Italian-run centres in Albania, referring the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
The detention of a first group transferred last month had also been denied by Italian judges, who questioned the way Italy designated countries as “safe” for repatriation based on a recent ECJ ruling.
“These judges need to go,” Musk – the world’s richest man – commented on X.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, the leader of the anti-immigration League party, responded in English: “Elon Musk is right.”
But the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) denounced the comment as “unacceptable interference” in Italian affairs.
Salvatore Casciaro, the secretary of magistrates union ANM, replied to Musk’s comment, saying that “there should be greater institutional respect for the judiciary and jurisdiction” according to Ansa.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took office in 2022 vowing to reduce the tens of thousands of migrants who arrive on Italy’s shores each year, but her policies have faced repeated challenges in court.
These include opposition to the plan to process asylum seekers picked up by Italian authorities in the Mediterranean in Albania.
If implemented, the plan would mark the first time a European Union nation processes migrants outside the bloc.
But judges ruled against the detention of the first group of migrants last month, with 12 men from Bangladesh and Egypt being taken back to Italy shortly after arriving in Albania.
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The judges cited an ECJ ruling stating that EU states can only designate entire countries as safe, not parts of countries. Italy’s list included some countries with unsafe areas, they said.
In response, Meloni’s government passed a law reducing its list of ‘safe’ countries to 19 from 22, and insisting all parts of those nations were safe.
But judges on Monday ruled against the detention of a second group of migrants, saying they wanted clarification from the ECJ.