Minister says Malta detention policy blessed by Strasbourg court

The Maltese government has stood by its policy of mandatory detention and said the system was necessary for the island’s “internal security”.

In a reaction two days after the migrant protests at the closed detention centre in Safi, Justice and Home Affairs minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici is claiming Malta’s detention system is in line with the European Convention of Human Rights, when the European Court of Human Rights has already ruled against Malta’s unlawful 18-month detention system for failed asylum seekers.

Tuesday’s protests were instigated after the majority of some 271 detainees at the Safi detention centre had their claims for protection rejected at the appeals stage before the maximum 12-month detention period, with the result of having their detention extended to 18 months.

While Mifsud Bonnici today said the European Court of Human Rights gives states the right to limit the movement of those who enter their territory, the same court has already ruled against Malta in the judgment in Louled Massoud v Malta, where the Court found Malta to be in violation of Article 5 if the Convention.

It found that Malta had violated Massoud’s right to liberty and security when it detained him for 18 months after his appeal had been rejected, because there was no realistic chance of him being deported once his claim was rejected.

Mifsud Bonnici claimed Malta’s detention policy as being in conformity with the European Convention on Human Rights as a “lawful arrest or detention of a person to prevent his effecting an unauthorised entry into the country or of a person against whom action is being taken with a view to deportation or extradition.”

“It is not considered that Tuesday’s incident constitutes an appropriate platform to direct criticism of Malta’s detention policy,” Mifsud Bonnici said, “particularly given that the riot was sparked off by the receipt of notifications informing migrants that their application for international protection was definitively turned down.”

Mifsud Bonnci said Malta has a recognition rate that consistently exceeds 50%, which proves that the system is by no means unfair to the asylum seeker.

However, Council of Europe human rights commissioner Thomas Hammarberg has criticised the appeals system becauseaccess of asylum seekers and their lawyers to their case file is extremely limited. While the recognition rate at first instance is remarkably high, the Commissioner noted that only six decisions of the Refugee Commissioner have been overturned by the Appeals Board since 2004.

Human rights NGOs such aditus, the Jesuit Refugee Service, and the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) condemned the violence by detainees but pointed out the dire conditions inside the Safi detention centre.

“The outbreak of the riot at this detention centre which resulted in injuries to public officers and damage to public property, is a regrettable incident that cannot but be condemned by all stakeholders in the sector,” Mifsud Bonnici said.

He said the force used to contain the protests had been to the minimum extent possible.

The minister also said refurbishment initiatives took place at the Hermes Block at Ħal Far detention centre, while the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers (AWAS) has already launched an educational programme for detained migrants at the Ħal Far detention centre.

“AWAS will be expanding this programme to include the Safi Detention Centre shortly.

“It must be recalled, however, that illegal migration does pose very significant pressures for Malta – a small country with limited resources. Notwithstanding several limitations, Malta has in place a fair and transparent asylum system fully in accord with its international and EU obligations.”