Italy's appeal courts have deemed returning migrants to Libya illegal after an Italian captain after forcing over 100 people back to Libya.

Italy's top appeals court has established that sending sea migrants back to Libya is unlawful, a ruling hailed by charities and human rights groups.

The Court of Cassation upheld the conviction of the captain of an Italian towboat, Asso 28, who in 2018 rescued 101 migrants from a rubber dinghy and returned them to Libya.

The rescue took place in international waters about 105 km off Libya, the court said. Pregnant women and children were among the migrants, it added.

The captain - whose name was blacked out in the ruling for privacy reasons - was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for the crimes of abandoning minors or incapacitated persons, and arbitrary disembarkation and abandonment of persons.

He is unlikely to go to prison, however, as in the Italian system jail terms of under four years are not normally served behind bars.

The ruling is final, upholding earlier decisions by two lower courts. It was filed on February 1, but was publicised by Italian media over the weekend. Reuters obtained a copy of it on Sunday.

Italy and other European governments have taken an increasingly hard line on immigration in recent years, amid a swell in support for right-wing parties that want strict curbs on sea arrivals from North Africa.

The Libya to Italy crossing is one of the most-used sea migration routes.

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