The UK Home Office may no longer be able to deport many Albanian migrants who enter the country illegally, following a decision by the British High Court requiring a more detailed examination of those considered “victims of trafficking”.
Thousands of Albanian men have been identified as potential victims of trafficking in the UK in recent years. Many are sent back to their home country, even though they may be potential or confirmed victims of trafficking, because the British Home Office claims they will be safe in their homeland.
But " The Guardian " writes that the latest decision is likely to be a significant blow to the government, which is trying to increase the number of people it removes from the country.
Albanians, according to the British newspaper, have been the most common nationality forcibly deported from the UK in the past 5 years. 2,247 people were deported in the 12 months to the end of March, making up a quarter of forced returns, according to UK government figures.
The data revealed shows that, while Albanian women were previously the majority victims of trafficking in the sex industry, they have now been surpassed by men. It is mainly boys and young men who are trafficked into the drug trade, either to distribute illegal drugs or to work as "gardeners" on cannabis farms.
In 2022, 4,107 Albanian men were referred to UK services for possible trafficking, compared to 502 women. In 2023, the figure was 3,463 men and 588 women.
The legal action was brought by a 21-year-old trafficking victim from Albania who was first exploited by an Albanian gang in Belgium when he visited the country with his father at the age of 16. He was sold to another Albanian gang, who brought him to the UK and forced him to work growing cannabis plants. He later escaped and was considered a victim of trafficking, but was denied asylum because he was told he would be safe if he returned to Albania.
A panel of three senior judges at the High Court of Immigration and Nationality granted his asylum claim and concluded that, even though 5 years had passed since he was first trafficked, he remained at “real risk” from his traffickers and could not be safely returned to Albania.
The judges issued new guidelines for the government, which must be considered by the Ministry of Interior before deciding whether to return male victims of trafficking to Albania.
The decision found that, while Albania has made progress in the fight against corruption, it remains a widespread problem and that there are no dedicated shelters for adult male victims of trafficking, while the risk of victims being re-trafficked if they return to Albania is considerable.
The Islington Law Centre, which has particular expertise in representing Albanian victims of trafficking, highlighted a number of disturbing practices to which gangs subject their victims. These include deliberately making videos of sexual abuse, including raping child trafficking victims and threatening to release the footage on social media; they also show young people videos of loved ones in Albania to let them know who their families are; and gangs also inflict physical injuries, such as broken bones, on children and young people.
Esme Madill, a solicitor at the Islington Law Centre, who specialises in representing young victims of human trafficking, welcomed the decision: “This thoughtful decision has been reached by a court which has benefited from significant and detailed evidence in relation to the disturbing issue of the trafficking of young boys and men by Albanian organised crime networks. The profiles of trafficking survivors and the risks recognised in the decision strongly align with what we see in our work with deeply brutalised and traumatised young survivors every week.”
Sources from the Interior Ministry said they were considering whether to apply to appeal. ©The Guardian, LAPSI.al
