Relief as Italian court says rescued refugees cannot be sent back to Libya

A girl sits on board a boat belonging to Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms, after she was rescued in the Mediterranean Sea, 37km (20 nautical miles) from the Libyan coast [File: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP]

Tunis, Tunisia – News that an Italian court had blocked the country’s vessels from returning refugees and migrants to Libya was welcomed by the tens of refugees and migrants camped in a crowded passage outside the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Tunis.

Many of those outside the IOM that day had escaped from Libya and had first-hand knowledge of the abuse that people face there.