A top appeals court in Italy has ruled that returning maritime migrants to Libya is "illegal", a decision praised by charity and human rights organizations, Reuters reported.

The Court of Cassation affirmed the conviction of the captain of the Italian towboat, Asso, 28, who rescued 101 migrants from a rubber dinghy in 2018 and returned them to Libya.

The rescue occurred in international seas around 105 kilometers off the coast of Libya, according to the court. Pregnant women and children were among the migrants, it said.

The captain was sentenced to one year for abandoning minors or incapacitated people and arbitrary disembarkation and abandonment of people, although he is unlikely to go to prison since the Italian justice system does not serve jail sentences under 4 years.

Italy and other European governments have taken a tougher stance on immigration in recent years, owing to a surge in support for right-wing groups advocating stringent restrictions on maritime arrivals from North Africa. The Libya-Italy passage is one of the most popular maritime migration routes.

The Mediterranea Saving Humans migrant rescue group posted on X that the ruling sets a judicial precedent that proves Libya is not a safe place.

La Corte di #Cassazione ha confermato la condanna definitiva del comandante della nave #Asso28 che il 30 luglio 2018 soccorse 101 persone in pericolo nel #Mediterraneo centrale e poi le deportò in #Libia, da dove stavano fuggendo. pic.twitter.com/wogRf4YJ2Z

— Mediterranea Saving Humans (@RescueMed) February 17, 2024

Amnesty International's Italian branch praised the judgment while criticizing the government for working with Libyan authorities on migration.

"Pushing people back to Libya and collaborating with the so-called (Libyan) coast guard conflicts with the duty to bring rescued people to a safe place," according to the statement.

Under international humanitarian law, refugees cannot be forced to return to countries where they face significant ill-treatment and rampant migrant maltreatment.

In 2018, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR voiced alarm about a probable "violation of international law" due to the Asso 28's actions.

Italian court sentences human trafficker to 20 years in prison

In early February, a people smuggler involved in a shipwreck last year that led to the death of 94 migrants was sentenced to 20 years in prison by an Italian court in the southern city of Crotone. 

The smuggler, Gun Ufuk, a 29-year-old Turkish national, has been found guilty of crimes including causing a shipwreck and aiding illegal immigration in which the court also ordered him to pay a €3m fine and pay damages to civil plaintiffs.

The boat in question departed from Turkey, carrying around 180 migrants from Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Syria, including many children, and went down in stormy weather off the coast of Calabria on February 26 of last year. The smuggling involved four alleged human smugglers one of whom is Ufuk, who denied being in charge of the boat. This made it the deadliest migrant shipwreck to happen so close to Italy's coastline since October 2013's boat sinking incident on the island of Lampedusa, which killed 368 people.

Bodies and debris washed up on the beaches near the area for days after last year’s shipwreck, and one suspected smuggler died, while two others are still standing trial.

Meloni vowed to prevent Italy from becoming Europe's 'refugee camp'

Meloni vowed on September 20 that she would prevent her country from becoming a camp for refugees in Europe because of the large influx of refugees arriving from Africa and Asia.

"I will not let Italy become a camp for refugees in Europe. It is necessary to declare war against human traffickers," Meloni told reporters a day ahead of the 78th UN General Assembly in New York.  

She further acknowledged the challenging migrant situation, particularly on the island of Lampedusa, and expressed optimism that international organizations would assist in finding a solution to the crisis.