A woman who fled Tunisia with her daughters because she risked detention over her alleged unpaid debts has been granted subsidiary protection by a Milan court. The judge ruled that the 50-year-old risked being subjected to "torture" and "inhuman and degrading treatment" while in jail, judicial sources said on April 7.
The special immigration section of Milan's tribunal has granted a 50-year-old Tunisian woman special protection because she risked "torture" and "inhuman and degrading treatment" if she were to be detained in Tunisia over her unpaid debts.
"Imprisonment for debt" was abolished in Italy more than 150 years ago, the judge said. For these reasons, as well as the "dramatic condition" of prisons in Tunisia and the danger of police abuse, the court granted subsidiary protection to the woman who fled the country with her daughters over the serious risk of detention for failing to pay her debts, a charge which she has vehemently denied.
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The woman's case - hoax after deceit
Milan judge Pietro Caccialanza wrote in his sentence that the woman, her husband -- from whom she has in the meantime divorced -- and other people, after the so-called Jasmine Revolution in 2011 which ousted then-president Ben Ali, gave their documents for an alleged initiative linked to the creation of a new party, following a friend's advice.
According to court papers, which were filed about 10 days ago, the party received state funding for an electoral campaign: over five million dinars were deposited by the interior ministry in the bank account of the self-proclaimed president of the party, who later fled to Abu Dhabi with the money and with the woman's friend who had suggested the donation.
The woman, with about 10 others, later found out that she had been registered as a promoter and candidate of the Tunisian National Front, a party which was unknown to her.
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Residence permit for subsidiary international protection granted
In spite of the 'fraud', the woman and the other people involved were ordered by Tunisian judicial authorities to pay back the significant sum of money, in addition to a fine. Since she didn't have the money, she fled Tunisia in May 2018 with her two youngest daughters to join her brother in Milan and avoid detention over a scam for which she doesn't feel responsible.
She has now obtained international subsidiary protection over the Tunisian audit court's charge that she did not pay her debts.
If repatriated, the Milan court said there is "reason to fear" that she could be "subjected to torture or inhuman and degrading treatment" because she could be "detained for a very long period of time exclusively due to the fact that she didn't pay a sum of money."
Moreover, debt imprisonment "goes against" Italian legislation because the punishment has disappeared "for more than 150 years" in the name of "legal culture" as a "modern achievement of our country," judge Caccialanza wrote in his ruling.
Author: Francesca Brunati
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