[WATCH] Byron Camilleri insists he acted against Alex Dalli

Home affairs minister Byron Camilleri has insisted that he has already taken action against former prison director Alex Dalli. 

Speaking to MaltaToday on Tuesday, Camilleri was confronted on the horrific details that emerged from an Ombudsman report that flagged dysfunctional prison management, the degrading treatment of prisoners, racism, and the use of intimidation as an operational tool.

Throughout the years, stories of Dalli’s cruelty were slowly emerging, but Camilleri continued to defend him. When asked whether he should shoulder political responsibility for defending Dalli, he insisted that he had taken the necessary steps in 2021. 

He referenced an inquiry he had launched at the time, as well as reforms and initiatives. A few months after being sacked as prison director, Dalli was awarded a job with a €103,000 pay package and is now handling migration control efforts as part of a joint Malta-Libya centre.

When pressed on whether Dalli’s newest job constitutes as “action”, Camilleri said that migrant boat arrivals have dropped significantly. 

Camilleri would not respond on whether he believes that the Ombudsman’s report merits an investigation, explaining that he will not get involved in police work. 

Similarly, when asked whether the police are investigating the report, the police said that they cannot confirm or deny the existence of ongoing investigations.

"It's our job to teach them fear"

The Ombudsman’s report found evidence of blatant racism toward non-Maltese prisoners, including a specific incident where a group of irregular immigrants were forced to kneel and were intimidated by a police dog. One witness said that the inmates, who had just arrived at CCF were later stripped and hosed down with a pipe.

There were also instances where an inmate’s mail was being held by officials, and another instance where Dalli himself had refused his request to get married.

The report also addresses claims about Dalli’s use of his official firearm to threaten prisoners. In 2023, Dalli had lost a libel case against Mediatoday newspaper Illum and its editor Saviour Balzan on report claiming he held a gun in an inmate’s mouth.

The report also mentions a sign that was put up in a corridor shortly after Dalli was appointed director which read, “If violence and criminality are to be contained, we are the only people that can do so. The prisoner doesn’t fear the police, judges or the jury. So it is our job to teach them fear. Welcome to prison!”