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Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
World

Italy sends first asylum seekers to Albania under controversial deal

A navy boat carrying refugees and migrants intercepted in Italian waters docked at Shengjin port in Albania on October 16 [Adnan Beci / AFP]

An Italian navy ship has docked in Albania to deliver refugees and migrants, the first such mission under a controversial deal between the two countries that sends asylum seekers outside the European Union while their claims are processed.

The ship, carrying 16 men who were picked up in Italian waters, arrived at Shengjin port on Wednesday. The arrangement has been heralded by Italy’s right-wing government as unprecedented and eyed by other EU states seeking to tighten immigration policies, but rights groups have slammed it as undermining human rights.

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