Lawyers frustrated by limited access to new prison inmates

New prison inmates have restricted access to their lawyers, leading to frustration in legal circles, MaltaToday has learnt. 

People setting foot inside jail for the first time are being subjected to a 14-day quarantine period in line with COVID-19 measures introduced by the prison administration. 

Prisoners are held in solitary confinement in Division 6, where they spend 23 hours in their cell and only allowed to leave for one hour per day. 

Within that one hour, inmates are expected to clean their cell, exercise and find time to speak to their lawyer. 

Lawyers who spoke to this newspaper on condition of anonymity to protect their clients said the one-hour timespan is too short to allow them time to speak to their clients and build a proper case. 

“Even then, you speak to your client from behind a Perspex window, while family members of other inmates are sat next to you speaking to their relatives,” a criminal lawyer said. “You cannot even take in documents with you, because the prison officials bar you from doing so, unless you file a special request which is not always met.” 

Lawyers also claim that it is hard to contact their clients over the phone. 

“While it’s not the best way to speak to your client, due to the fact that calls are recorded, even when calling them, prisoners are not always reachable,” another lawyer said. 

The sources added that the one-hour allotment outside the cell is constantly changing, which adds to the frustration. 

The European Court of Human Rights case law states that “any person who wishes to consult a lawyer should be free to do so under conditions which favour full and uninhibited discussion.” This is not being respected with new entrants into prison, the sources said. 

But the Home Affairs Ministry has denied the claims, insisting “the quarantine period is in line with the stipulated health protocols”, and that “prisoners have access to their lawyer everyday between the hours of 2pm and 6pm”. 

“It must be made clear that all prisoners have complete access to their lawyers during the designated hours,” the ministry spokesperson said. “In cases which involve a jury, a prisoner may also meet with their lawyer after the stipulated hours if the need arises.”  

MaltaToday reached out to the Chamber of Advocates with a spokesperson saying that while “rumours and grumblings” on the issue have reached it, no formal complaint has ever been made to it. 

“If a formal complaint is received, the Chamber will investigate the case,” a spokesperson said. 

But the sources said the problem with filing a complaint lies in clients refusing to do so because they fear repercussions. 

“The problem is that when clients are told that they need to open a constitutional case on the issue, they refrain from doing so out of fear that there would be repercussions for speaking out, as well as, not wanting to be victimised,” they said.