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Man on the run turns himself in after eight years seeking medical treatment
Egyptian Coptic Christian says he absconded from detention fearing repatriation and persecution.
23 May 2013, 12:00am
Chris Mangion
Chris Mangion
1 min read
After spending eight years on the run, Gergis Naadi Saad Fadil returned to Malta, turning himself in and explaining that he had absconded from the Safi Detention Centre in order to escape religious prosecution following his repatriation to Egypt.
The 31-year-old Egyptian spent the past months living at the Mosta Church and helping the priests in their daily chores. Claiming he suffers from a medical condition that requires treatment, since October 2005 he was unable to visit the hospital or a polyclinic without being arrested.
Gergis approached lawyer Gianluca Caruana Curran who took up his case with the immigration police. Inspector Edel Mary Camilleri explained that she had received a call from the Refugee Commission who explained the reasons for Gergis's escape. The Egyptian had arrived in Malta undocumented, on a boat carrying other asylum seekers.
When repatriation procedures kicked in, Gergis - a Coptic Christian - feared that he would be sent to Egypt were he would be prosecuted by the Muslim community.
Magistrate Carol Peralta handed the Egyptian a one year's imprisonment suspended for two years, for escaping detention. Gergis will however return in administrative detention for having entered Maltese territory without documentation.
Chris Mangion is MaltaToday’s photojournalist, joining the newspaper in 2013.
In 1995...
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Too bad he was not Muslim, for the JRS would be out there taking his case right up to the Courts of Human Rights. No, seriously, if he had been, he would have been granted refugee status pronto.
The sad case is that Copts are being murdered and persecuted now more than ever with Morsi and the "Arab Spring" and such stories are hardly ever reported in mainstsream media. I have lots of Christian Coptic friends that tell me of all the hardships they have to endure. But funnily enough, Christian Europe (including Malta) do not open up their doors to welcome these fellow Christian and real refugees.
