Migrant Center Revelations
Internal documents expose suicide attempts and revolts in Meloni's Albania migrant center's initial 48 days.
Internal documents from Medihospes — the cooperative managing Italy's migrant centers in Albania — reveal a grim picture of the facility's first 48 days of operation. Suicide attempts, migrants swallowing glass and metal, and at least four violent riots broke out among fewer than 25 detainees, according to Altreconomia, the investigative magazine that won the documents in a prolonged legal battle.
The revelations strike at the heart of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's flagship immigration policy. She called the Albania deal "a new, courageous, and necessary path to stop irregular migration," according to ANSA. The internal logs tell a very different story.
Migrants Swallowed Glass to Escape the Facility
The internal logs, dubbed the "Medihospes Diaries" by Altreconomia, document extreme acts of self-harm inside the Gjadër detention center. Migrants swallowed shards of glass, batteries, and pieces of metal. The goal: force a medical evacuation back to Italy. At least three suicide attempts occurred in the first six weeks. One entry describes a man trying to hang himself with a bedsheet, stopped only by a midnight patrol.
Medihospes psychologists described a "state of permanent agitation" among detainees. Many had already survived traumatic crossings of the Mediterranean. They then found themselves locked inside a high-security complex with 4-meter-high fences — outside EU territory and in a legal grey zone, according to Il Post.
Riots Broke Out as a Legal Vacuum Left Detainees Stranded
Violent protests erupted at least four times, damaging the modular housing units. Security staff reported being "overwhelmed" by detainees. In total, the leaked logs cite over 30 "critical events" — fights, self-harm, or medical emergencies — involving fewer than 25 people in the initial window. That works out to more than one serious incident per day.
The unrest was fueled in part by legal chaos. On October 18, 2024 — just two days after the first 16 migrants arrived — a Rome court refused to validate their detention. Judges cited a EU Court of Justice ruling that Egypt and Bangladesh could not be classified as fully "safe countries." The migrants were transferred back to Italy. Those who came later faced the same limbo.
Italy Is Spending €670 Million on a Near-Empty Prison
The numbers expose a stark mismatch between cost and output. The total project cost is estimated at €670 million over five years, according to Reuters. The Medihospes management contract alone is worth roughly €134 million over 48 months. During the peak of the self-harm incidents, the staff-to-migrant ratio was nearly 10 to 1 — because courts kept blocking new arrivals.
Economic analysts at Il Sole 24 Ore pointed out that Italy is spending hundreds of millions to process a number of migrants that the island of Lampedusa handles in a single weekend. The centers have remained largely empty or far below capacity since late 2024, as litigation continues to grind through the courts.
Political Fallout Grows as EU Neighbors Reconsider Copycat Plans
The opposition parties PD and the Five Star Movement have called for a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the Medihospes contract. The Altreconomia report gave them what one lawmaker called "smoking gun" evidence of mismanagement. The Italian government continues to appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing that judges are making a "political attack" on its migration policy.
Beyond Italy, the fallout is spreading. Denmark and the Netherlands had been watching the Albania model as a possible template. Both countries have reportedly cooled their interest after the reports of violence and legal chaos, according to The Guardian. Albanian PM Edi Rama denies the centers are a "Guantanamo," calling them an act of "solidarity" with Italy — but the Medihospes diaries have made that defense much harder to sustain.
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