Europe rights court rejects hearing Tunisian migrant’s arbitrary-detention claim against Italy

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has refused to hear a Tunisian migrant’s claim against Italy for arbitrary detention, ruling that the applicant did not exhaust all available domestic remedies, Jurist News reported. Mansouri, a Tunisian national, was detained aboard the Italian-flagged cruise ship Splendid after attempting to re-enter Italy without a valid visa. He claimed he was confined for seven days in a locked cabin, alleging a violation of his right to liberty under Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The court found that Mansouri failed to raise the specific detention claim before Italian authorities, making his appeal against the return order insufficient. It ruled that Italy’s domestic remedies, including potential release or compensation, were effective. However, the ECHR noted that had Mansouri exhausted these remedies, it would have considered the case because the ship was under Italian jurisdiction and the captain’s actions were attributable to the state.

This contrasts with a 2015 ruling where similar detention on the high seas was found unlawful due to lack of legal basis at the time.