Il ruolo dell’Italia nella pratica delle extraordinary renditions: il caso Nasr et Ghali c. Italie

On February 23, 2016, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rendered its judgment in the case Nasr et Ghali c. Italie (n. 44883/09), concerning the extraordinary rendition of Mr. Hassan Nasr (also known as Abu Omar) from Italy to Egypt by CIA agents. Mr. Nasr and his wife, Nabila Ghali, complained about the violation of articles 3, 5, 6, 8 and 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) by Italy, where the extraordinary rendition had taken place. More specifically, Mr. Nasr asked the Court to ascertain that Italy had violated its obligations under the ECHR, due to the role that the Italian authorities had played in the disappearance of the applicant. Mrs. Nabila Ghali complained that Italy had violated her rights protected under articles 3 and 8 of the ECHR. The ECtHR condemned Italy for its role in the disappearance of Mr. Nasr: on the one hand, indeed, Italy failed to protect Mr. Nasr from abduction and from being transferred to Egypt, therefore violating articles 3, 5 and 8 of the ECHR; on the other hand, due to the psychological pain and anxiety caused to Mrs. Ghali, Italy was condemned for the violation of articles 3 and 8 of the ECHR. Furthermore, the Court found a violation of article 13 of the Convention, due to Italy’s failure to guarantee the right to an effective remedy to both applicants. Upon these premises, the present paper examines the judgement rendered by the ECtHR, focusing in particular on the violation of article 3 of the ECHR and on the rendition to which Mr. Nasr was subjected, in light of the status of refugee awarded to him by Italian authorities.