Italian MEP says delegation denied full access to Albania migrant centre

An Italian member of the European Parliament said staff at an Italian-run migrant detention centre in Albania blocked a delegation from obtaining basic data and entering cells during an inspection. Cristina Guarda, from Italy’s Greens and Left Alliance, stated that the group received no information on the number of people held at the facility in Gjadër and was not permitted to view living areas.

incidents reported Guarda cited an official register of “critical events” that recorded six suicide attempts and additional self-harm incidents since mid-May. She also described high temperatures inside the facility and said the use of psychotropic medication appeared routine.

The prefect office in Rome, which oversees Italy’s offshore centres in Albania, did not respond to a request for comment. Medihospes, the cooperative that manages the sites, also did not reply.

Background on the Italy-Albania agreement Italy opened two centres in Albania in 2024 under a five-year agreement estimated to cost €130-140 million annually. The centres process asylum claims of adult men intercepted at sea and hold rejected applicants pending deportation.

Italian courts have blocked some transfers, citing European law on unsafe countries of origin. The Gjadër facility, used mainly for pre-expulsion detention, is estimated to hold 70-80 people, while the two sites together can accommodate roughly 1,000.

Guarda said detainees reported having nothing to do and often spent time sleeping. A Dutch MEP on the same delegation described the visit as “very disappointing and disgraceful” because staff created obstacles and withheld information.