Turin's CIE - International University College of Turin

to contextualise our understanding of the centre in terms of its wider economic, social and
political context.
Finally, Part E offers a conclusion to this research project, highlighting the key problems that
were revealed during the study. The appendixes include a glossary of Italian terms, the
interview forms and the consent form that were used for the interviews, a list of abbreviations
and a bibliography of sources.
With the aim of giving voice to detainees, the research group decided to include five top stories
in the report. These are personal life stories collected during the interviews with some of the
current detainees. Such accounts may be seen as highly representative of one or more of the
issues highlighted in the report, and they can be found under the paragraphs which concern the
topics that they are closely connected to. In order to preserve confidentiality, detainees’ names
have been replaced with a random letter and any identifying information has been deleted.
Importantly, we would like to thank all of the interviewees who generously offered to
participate in the CIE Research Project. We are very grateful that they took the time to share this
important and often personal and stressful information with us.
The Research Group
METHODOLOGY
The CIE Research Project, as part of a clinical legal training program, has been entirely managed
and conducted by a group of six diverse students, under the supervision of the clinical staff: Mr.
Ulrich Stege (IUC Clinical Program Coordinator, lawyer) and Avv. Maurizio Veglio (ASGI
member, lawyer).
The student research group was composed of an Italian law student from the University of
Turin, an Italian-Argentinian law student from the Eastern Piedmont University in Alessandria
and four post-graduate students from Australia, India, Italy and Russia attending the IUC
2011/2012 LLM program (Master in Comparative Law, Economics and Finance). The research
group as a whole possessed wide-ranging language skills that enabled it to access a broad
section of the foreign population in Italy. The student-researchers are mother tongue or can
speak an advanced level of English, Italian, Russian, Spanish, French, Hindi and Bengali.
The Preliminary Stages
The first preparatory stage of the CIE Research Project involved a study of the legal framework
that governs immigration detention centres in terms of Italian, European and international law.
Not only was Italian and European Union migration law analysed in depth 1 but the study also
carefully considered the relevant conventions under international human rights law 2 , as well as
1 For the purposes of this research, the most relevant Italian and European laws in the field of migration are:
Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on common
standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals, L 348/98
Official Journal of the European Union, 24.12.2008; Decreto Legislativo 25 luglio 1998, n. 286 “Testo unico
delle disposizioni concernenti la disciplina dell'immigrazione e norme sulla condizione dello straniero” (GU n.
191 del 18-8-1998 - Supplemento Ordinario n. 139) (“Testo Unico Immigrazione”). Legislative Decree 25 July
1998, n. 286 “Unified text on provisions concerning immigration and norms on the condition of foreign
citizens” (GU n. 191 of 18-8-1998 – Ordinary Supplement n. 139) (“Unified Text on Immigration”).
2 Convention Against Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, opened for signature 10
December 1984, 1465 U.N.T.S. 85 (entered into force 26 June 1987); Convention on the Rights of the Child,
opened for signature 20 November 1989, 1577 U.N.T.S. 3 (entered into force 2 September 1990); Convention
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