Migrants jailed for eight months following escape from detention

14 migrants have been jailed for eight months following their escape from the Hal Safi Detention Centre last night. They all admitted in front of Magistrate Neville Camilleri to escaping from detention and to committing damages.

The men were aged between 19 and 29. Five were from Senegal, four from Mali, three from Ghana, one from Guinea Bissau and another from Sierra Leone. They admitted to causing more than €116.47 each in damages.

The migrants were taken to court in a police bus, handcuffed in pairs. They were arraigned by Inspector Kevin Pulis while Legal aid lawyer Renzo Porsella Flores defended the accused.

At the time of the arraignment, five other migrants were still on the run. They escaped around 2.00 a.m. after they are believed to have damaged a fence. A magisterial inquiry is under way.