Egypt was included on the government's list of so-called "safe" countries to which migrants could be returned under an expedited process – a list updated only last month.
But the Catania court on Monday ruled that Egypt couldn't be considered a "safe" country, citing a European Court of Justice ruling stating that the level of security in such nations must be "general and constant" for them to be considered safe.
The head of Catania's court, Massimo Escher, documented "serious human rights violations" in Egypt, including systematic use of torture by police, violence against human rights lawyers and journalists, and discrimination against women, religious minorities and LGBTQ people.
As a result, he refused to sign off on a detention order for an Egyptian asylum seeker.
The lawyer for the unnamed migrant, Rosa Emanuela Lo Faro, told AFP the Catania court had refused to sign off on detention orders for four other migrants on Monday – two from Egypt and two from Bangladesh.
The ECJ ruling was also cited by a Rome judge last month who ruled against the transfer of the first group of migrants – from Bangladesh and Egypt – to two new Italian-run processing centres in Albania.
The Albania deal, the first time a European Union country has sought to process asylum applications outside the bloc, is a flagship policy of Meloni's government.
In response to the ECJ ruling, the government updated its list of "safe" countries, removing Cameroon, Colombia and Nigeria, but keeping a total of 19, including Bangladesh, Egypt and Tunisia.
Meloni, the leader of the Brothers of Italy party, was elected in 2022 on a pledge to stop the tens of thousands of migrants who arrive in small boats on Italy's shores each year from North Africa.
Last November, she struck a deal to house male asylum seekers picked up by Italian authorities in the Mediterranean in the Albanian centres.
But the scheme has sparked major concerns about whether the rights of those taken to Albania were being respected.
Deputy PM Matteo Salvini's League party slammed the Catania court decision on Monday, saying Egypt was an "increasingly popular holiday destination".
"Egypt is a safe country for everyone, except for illegal immigrants," it said.
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