Italy refuses to repatriate 4-year-old Tunisia girl 

A Tunisian judicial official revealed that the Italian authorities refused to return the Tunisian child, Linda, to Tunisia. He also pointed out that the Tunisian judiciary had decided to ban her family from travelling to Italy, while a lawyer talked about the formation of a “human rights commission” to pressure the Italian authorities to return Linda to Tunisia.

A week ago, Linda (4 years old) arrived alone on the Italian island of Lampedusa via a secret immigration boat, following which the Italian authorities put her in a shelter in Palermo. At the same time, the Tunisian authorities detained her family, which was unable to join the boat.

Farid Ben Jeha, the spokesman of the Courts of Monastir and Mahdia, confirmed that the Italian authorities assigned a lawyer and accused him of refusing to return the child, Linda, stressing that “the representative of the protection of children will appear on Friday before the Italian judiciary to prove that the judicial authorities in Tunisia issued a judgement which stipulates that it is necessary to return the child to Tunisia, since the child’s interest is to stay with her family.”

“The Tunisian judiciary’s decision must be implemented within the framework of judicial cooperation with Italy, especially since the ruling falls within the framework of national sovereignty. In case there is no positive interaction from the Italian side, there are several other mechanisms for appeal,” Ben Jeha said in a radio statement.

On the other hand, Ben Jeha pointed out that the investigating judge of the Monastir Court issued, on Wednesday evening, a travel ban decision against Linda’s parents (…) and the decision came for the proper conduct of investigations into the case, especially since the organiser of the secret immigration process is under investigation. The representative of the protection of children is in Palermo and he has been contacted and informed about the decision.

Majdi Karbai, the former deputy in Italy, criticised the decision to prevent the family from travelling, where he wrote on his Facebook page: “The decision is politicised before it is judicial, and it is a method to pressure the family and prove to the Italian judiciary that the father and mother are prohibited from travelling (in an attempt to pressure it to return the child). However, Italy is a State of law and institutions, not a state of instructions.”

Meanwhile, Lawyer Shafiq Al-Akhdar announced the formation of an “independent committee” of lawyers to work on returning the child, Linda, from Italy, adding, “If we cannot return the garbage to them, then at least let us try to get our children back from them.”

The Ministry of Family and Childhood had announced earlier that the follow-up cell formed by the Tunisian authorities will visit the girl, Linda, at the Al-Iwan Centre in the Italian city of Palermo, where it is supposed to meet the Italian family judge who is in charge of the case to discuss how to return her to Tunisia.

READ: Tunisia president calls for int’l cooperation to confront rising irregular migration