By classifying the refoulement to Libya of 277 migrants intercepted on the 6th of May, and of 240 on the 10th of May, by the Italian Navy in the Strait of Sicily on 6 May as an « historical shift », the Italian interior minister, Roberto Maroni, is not mistaken. However, far from marking progress in the fight against illegal immigration as he claims, this repatriation means that Italy has chosen to turn its back on democratic principles and the commitments that bind it in the field of fundamental rights.
