Italian court bans return of orphans taken from Berdiansk to Ukraine

An Italian court has ruled that 57 Ukrainian orphans aged 6 to 16, who were taken from Berdiansk after Russia's full-scale invasion, will remain in Italy, placed in three centers in Bergamo.

According to Yevropeiska Pravda, this was reported by the Ansa news agency.

The Juvenile Court of Brescia confirmed by its decision the immediate transfer of Ukrainian minors in the province of Bergamo to the custody of Italian social services “so that they can continue to stay in the places where they are now”, in fact without any time limits.

Previously, the court had granted a two-week extension of their stay, but the ruling overturned that decision and made it indefinite.

The Ukrainian authorities requested the return of the children.

The court ruling, however, notes that “as reported in recent days by the guardians, the Ministry of Justice and the UNHCR,” many children have filed and others intend to file an application for international protection with the territorial commission, “fearing for their safety in connection with their return to areas close to the theater of operations.”

Therefore, “in the light of this new fact”, the court found it “appropriate to temporarily suspend the return to Ukraine of the above-mentioned minors in order to allow the Commission to conduct its investigation and take the necessary decisions on the applications filed by the minors”.

The Court of Brescia, whose jurisdiction extends to the Bergamo region, also emphasizes that “the return should be suspended for all minors, since they have, since their arrival in Italy, constituted essentially a single group represented by a single responsible person and therefore cannot be separated”.

The group of children arrived in Bergamo in March 2022, along with several caregivers, and were immediately accepted by the city's population. The group came from two orphanages in Berdiansk, from which they had fled during the Russian offensive.

The consideration of the Ukrainian request for repatriation of the children was scheduled for Friday, August 16, but has been frozen by the Italian authorities. This is also because many of the orphans are being treated in hospitals in Bergamo for various serious pathologies.

Author - Olena Madiak, 15/08/2024