Amnesty alleges Italian police torture migrants to obtain their fingerprints

Italian police have used beatings and electric shocks, potentially constituting “torture”, to coerce migrants into being fingerprinted as Italy cracks under pressure from the EU, Amnesty International said.

“The European Union’s pressure on Italy to ‘get tough’ on refugees and migrants has led to unlawful expulsions and ill-treatment which in some cases may amount to torture,” the human rights NGO said in a report on Thursday.

The EU-sponsored “hotspot approach” for processing people - which requires Italy to fingerprint incomers so they can be prevented from claiming asylum elsewhere - has even seen minors abused, according to testimony from over 170 migrants.

Some migrants do not want to be fingerprinted as they hope to continue on to an EU-nation of their choosing and apply for asylum.

Last year Europe saw an influx of more than one million migrants and asylum seekers fleeing war and poverty in its worst such crisis since World War II.

“In their determination to reduce the onward movement of refugees and migrants to other member states, EU leaders have driven the Italian authorities to the limits - and beyond - of what is legal,” said Matteo de Bellis, Amnesty International’s Italy Researcher.

“The result is that traumatised people, arriving in Italy after harrowing journeys, are being subjected to flawed assessments and in some instances appalling abuse at the hands of the police, as well as unlawful expulsions,” he was quoted as saying.