FIFTH SECTION
CASE OF A.S. v. ITALY
(Application no. 20860/20)
 
 
 
 
JUDGMENT
 
 
STRASBOURG
19 October 2023
 
 
 
 
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of A.S. v. Italy,
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
 Stéphanie Mourou-Vikström, President,
 Lado Chanturia,
 Mattias Guyomar, judges,
and Sophie Piquet, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to:
the application (no. 20860/20) against the Italian Republic lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on 15 May 2020 by a Tunisian national, Mr A.S., who was born in and lives in Agrigento (“the applicant”) and was represented by Ms A. Brambilla, a lawyer practising in Milan;
the decision to give notice of the application to the Italian Government (“the Government”), represented by their Agent, Mr L. D’Ascia;
the parties’ observations;
 
Having deliberated in private on 28 September 2023,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
1. The case concerns the applicant’s detention in the hotspot in Contrada Imbriacola, on the island of Lampedusa, and the poor conditions of his stay. The Early Reception and Aid Centre (Centro di Soccorso e Prima Accoglienza – CSPA) on Lampedusa has been identified as one of the Italian hotspots pursuant to section 17 of Decree-Law no. 13 of 17 February 2017. 2. The applicant reached the Italian coast on 7 October 2019 aboard a makeshift vessel. On the following day, he was transferred to the hotspot at Lampedusa and on 19 October 2019 he expressed his wish to file an asylum request. 3. Consequently, on 25 October 2019 the applicant was transferred to a reception centre in Agrigento and on the same date he filed an asylum request. 4. By a decision of 29 October 2019, the Agrigento section of the Palermo Territorial Commission rejected the applicant’s asylum request as manifestly ill-founded. 5. The decision was served on the applicant on 2 November 2019. On the same day, an expulsion order made by the Prefect of Agrigento was served on the applicant together with an order issued by the Agrigento police commissioner for the applicant’s detention at the Caltanissetta Repatriation Detention Centre (CPR) for the time necessary to effect the applicant’s repatriation. 6. On 5 November 2019, the Caltanissetta Justice of the Peace declined to approve the detention order for want of jurisdiction and referred the case to the Caltanissetta ordinary court. The applicant therefore left the CPR. 7. On 21 November 2019 the applicant challenged his expulsion order before the Agrigento Justice of the Peace. 8. By a decision of 6 December 2019 the Agrigento Justice of the Peace revoked the order for the expulsion of the applicant from Italy on procedural grounds.

Article of the Convention at issue: Article 5
Outcome: violation