Substandard conditions still the norm for migrants

Despite the commitments made in a 2015 strategy document on detention regulations, Maltese detention centres have time and time again been reported to offer substandard living conditions likely to amount to inhuman and degrading treatment contrary to the European Convention of Human Rights.

In a report from human rights organisation Aditus for AIDA, the asylum information database, NGOs remain unable to provide proper information on the state of the living quarters after losing access in 2020 and being only allowed to visit detainees in a boardroom on the margin of the Safi Detention Centre.

The detention centres are managed by the Detention Service (DS), a government body which falls under the Ministry for Home Affairs. DS staff receive some in-service training, however people recruited for the post of DS officer or seconded from the Security Services are not required to have particular skills or competencies.

In 2020, a delegation from the UN Human Rights Office visited Malta to find migrants living in severely overcrowded conditions with little access to daylight, clean water, and sanitation. The High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2021 underlined the failure of the government “to ensure safe disembarkation and adequate reception of migrants, with rescued migrants being stranded aboard vessels that are unsuited for their accommodation, held in inadequate reception conditions upon disembarkation, including being at risk of arbitrary immigration detention, and facing obstacles to access immediate assistance such as medical care.”

In 2021, the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, another UN monitoring body, reported a catastrophic situation, saying Malta’s immigration system simply “contained” migrants who had essentially been forgotten, “within poor conditions of detention and regimes which verged on institutional mass neglect by the authorities.”

In January 2022, the Maltese government provided the Council of Europe’s committee of minister – responsible for the execution of judgements from the European Court of Human Rights – with updates on the judgement Feilazoo v. Malta, claiming that 86% of Safi Detention Centre detainees were living in refurbished or brand new compounds, that it had increased outdoor activities to three hours of outdoor space, and improved communication with families outside. It further reported professional football coaches giving weekly football sessions, and capoeira classes for female detainees.

Launching the Migrant Health Service in 2021, the government said it had reduced 80% of referrals to the health centres and Mater Dei A&E, and introduced a Close Monitoring Unit to provide separate accommodation for high-risk persons, and a Welfare Officer.

But in reply, the CoE’s Committee of Ministers requested “more detailed and extensive information” on whether these measures were sufficient to remedy the inadequate conditions of detention highlight by the CPT visit in 2020.

In July 2022, Aditus Foundation released a series of testimonies from detainees who had been held for 18 to 25 months in both China House and Safi between December 2019 and April 2022. The testimonies confirmed the living conditions had not improved sufficiently since the CPT’s visit. Further testimonies confirmed that the situation had not improved sufficiently. “One of the applicants claims he was detained in complete isolation for 147 days in a container in the so-called CMU unit due to being diagnosed with tuberculosis,” Aditus reported in its AIDA report. “Accordingly, NGOs report that detention conditions are still substandard with little improvement since the CPT’s visit, beyond the overcrowding linked to the decrease in arrivals and the increase in pushbacks.”

Aditus reports that “Maltese detention centres still offer substandard and undignified living conditions in poorly maintained buildings designed in a carceral setting characterized by the following conditions.”

Additionally, NGOs reported that there is no dedicated space for minors in China House, one zone being dedicated to them in the Safi Detention Centre, offering the same living conditions as the other blocks.

Healthcare

The creation of the Migrants Health Service in 2021 and a new clinic, operating in Safi Detention Centre, saw some positive improvements in the provision of health care to asylum seekers and migrants.

And while asylum seekers in 2022 appeared to be systematically screened upon arrival and referred to the appropriate services, Aditus cautions that this must be read within the context of a substantial drop in arrivals with little to no pressure on the system.

NGOs reported that some applicants reported that their treatment was stopped for no apparent reason and resumed following their intervention. Numerous applicants suffering from serious conditions reported that they are just given paracetamol when they complain of their conditions.

“That said, the Migrant Health Service appears to be aware of the medical condition of the detainees and usually refers them to the mainstream healthcare system, albeit with substantial waiting times. The issue therefore lies in the follow-up and the level of care afforded to applicants in between the medical appointments, which is reported to be insufficient by NGOs. Applicants with a potential serious condition must generally wait several months before being seen by a specialist and a diagnosis on their condition is reached. Meanwhile, their detention may have a detrimental impact on their health,” Aditus said.

The screening of mental health problems remains an issue, with many detainees falling through gaps, until they attempt suicide and are referred to Mount Carmel Hospital (MCH). In 2020, 93 detainees were taken to the psychiatric hospital (60 in 2019 and 17 in 2018) in order to be treated for self-harm or suicide attempts.

Excessive force

Aditus says the use of excessive force and other questionable forms of punishment remains an issue, especially where protests or escapes are attempted.

In January 2020, detainees started a protest which led to the intervention of the police - 19 were arrested. Days later, 22 were convicted to a nine-month prison sentence for “taking part in a rioting mob”.

NGOs exposed the way migrants were brought to Court, tied together in pairs and displayed to the general public, contrary to standard practice – an example of inhumane treatment and prejudicial to the principle of presumption of innocence. Minors were among the accused and should therefore have been awarded specific protections throughout criminal proceedings.

Several migrants tried to escape the detention centres. In September 2020, five migrants tried to escape Safi during a riot. A private security guard shot at one of the migrants who sustained light injuries, even though guards are not allowed to carry firearms in closed centres. 27 other detainees were accused of causing damages.

In the CPT report, the Committee reported having received several allegations of excessive use of force by DS staff and private security staff following riots. According to migrants reporting to the CPT, staff purposely shook the fence while some detainees were climbing it, causing them to fall to the ground where they were subjected to baton blows. The CPT also reported the unwarranted use of pepper spray by custodial staff against detained migrants.

The magisterial inquiry into the death of a young migrant who fell from the three-storey high fence in an attempted 5am escape from Lyster Detention Centre in September 2020, remains open. Although he received assistance by nurses on site he was only transferred to hospital hours later where he was certified dead at 11am. The CPT investigated the case, saying it “cannot reassure itself that staff, including health-care staff, had reacted sufficiently promptly when crucial help was needed to attempt to save this young man’s life from the effects of suspected internal bleeding over a period of at least three hours”.

Incarceration of asylum seekers

Serious shortcomings in detention centres evidenced by human rights groups like Aditus. Source: AIDA report, April 2023.

• Large rooms crammed with beds, no privacy
• Limited to no contact with the outside, all personal belonging being confiscated including mobile phones
• Little to no access to daily outdoor exercise except a few football games and a TV
• Systematic lack of information on detention
• Lack of heating or ventilation in the blocks exposing detainees to the cold of the winter and the heat of the summer
• Lack of appropriate clothes for the winter
• Lack of common space, religious space or library
• Insufficient personal hygiene products and cleaning materials and an inability to obtain a change of clothes
• Lack of appropriate healthcare, detainees ironically referring to Panadol as the one and only remedy that will ever be provided to them by the medical staff in the Centre.
• Inappropriate and racist behaviour of some DS officers with some detainees being reported to be threatened, pushed or insulted.

Detention Services Agency refutes claims

Refurbishment works in all compounds and residential blocks operated by the Detention Services Agency will be completed by the end of this year, the agency said in its reaction to the AIDA report.

Works started in 2020 included the installation of new vandal proof utilities, additional and brand-new sanitary facilities, new apertures in all living quarters and a comprehensive CCTV system in all areas.

The agency is insisting that a lot of work has been done since 2020 to address the issues flagged.

Two new accommodation blocks and a clinic were built, which helped eliminate overcrowding and enabled the management to house migrants according to protection needs, a spokesperson for DSA said.

“These changes also made it possible for the detainees to use the outdoor facilities for the whole day, except night-time,” he added.

China House

The organisation also refuted claims that the building known as China House, which is being used as a reception centre for newly arrived migrants, is structurally unsound. The claim was made in the AIDA report and another compiled by the national watchdog that monitors conditions that detainees are kept in.

“The building never had any structural problems and constant maintenance works are carried out, usually after the migrants using it are either transferred to open centres or to the detention centre in Safi,” the DSA said. It added: “The Hal Far Immigration Reception Centre (China House) was renovated in the year 2020 and was initially being used as a designated COVID-19 quarantine facility for irregular migrants.”

The Malta Red Cross was engaged three years ago to run the medical operation of this compound and remains engaged till today. The building is now used to accommodate migrants for a temporary period, normally in the days following their arrival in Malta.

The DSA also refuted claims on the lack of communication facilities, adding that a new television and telephone system was introduced in the past years.

“All new arrivals are given access to the phone on the same day they arrive at the centre and those who do not manage to do so are assisted to use applications such as WhatsApp and IMO,” the agency said.

It added that new meeting facilities were built and additional space for such visits will be provided in the next few days. These new facilities will be equipped with an open phone line system for lawyers, NGO representatives, interpreters, family members and other visitors. Moreover, a new female compound will be opened in the coming days, the agency said.

Healthcare

The DSA said the medical clinic at the Safi Detention Centre is of the same standards as every other health centre in Malta.

“It involves round the clock presence of nurses, daily GP clinic, quasi-daily psychiatric clinic, GU clinic, dermatology clinic and other services… All complaints are triaged by nurses and doctors who are aware of all minor or major cases,” the agency said.

It insisted that medications are given based on an inpatient-style treatment chart and filed in the person’s health records. Nurses are allowed to triage the need for basic analgesia if needed or upon a patient’s request.

It also refuted claims that treatment is sometimes stopped suddenly. “All treatments are given using a treatment chart and any lapse must be justified. When detainees are transferred from one compound to another, the nursing team are required to provide a medical handover which is documented. The same procedure is applied when a detainee is released from the closed facilities and provided with a Medical Handover Sheet with extra supplies of medication for the upcoming days.”

Increased security

The DSA said security at detention centres has been beefed up to ensure more accountability among officers and reduce vandalism. A surveillance system is also installed in the vans which transport detainees to different areas, it noted.

The agency refuted suggestions that migrants were not provided with adequate clothing for the winter. “Winter clothes such as thermal underwear, track suits, thermal socks and blankets are constantly being made available to everyone. The claim by the author of the AIDA report that such clothing is not being provided is also false.”

It also clarified that all people admitted to detention are provided with the necessary documentation in a language they understand.

The agency said training is provided on a continuous basis, in accordance with a schedule and provided to all new and veteran staff. It said that in the past year, detention officers were trained in basic life support and use of emergency defibrillators.

The agency said preparations are ongoing to organise training on emergency first aid, cultural sensitivity, and security later this year.