Government ignored repeated warnings on drug abuse inside prisons – PL
Home affairs shadow minister Michael Falzon has hit out at government for allegedly ignoring calls made by voluntary organisations and Caritas over rampant drug abuse within the Corradino Correctional Facility (CCF).
17 December 2011, 12:00am
Miriam Dalli
Miriam Dalli
1 min read
Four years ago I had described CCF as the Midnight Express, and today the joke among lawyers in court is that the prisons are a supermarket for narcotics, PL MP Michael Falzon.
Addressing a press conference this morning in reaction to this weeks 12 year jail term imposed on the daubed 'Queen of Jail' Josette Bickle for trafficking in drugs within the prison, Labour MP Michael Falzon said that evidence that came out of Bickle's trial, confirms all what had been said throughout the years.
"This also confirms government's shirking of responsibility, attention and accountability over the matter," Falzon said, adding that subsequent Nationalist government home affairs ministers never acted on the issue.
"Answers like we didn't know, are unacceptable," Falzon said.
"Four years ago I had described CCF as the 'Midnight Express', and today the joke among lawyers in court is that the prisons are a supermarket for narcotics," he added.
Falzon quoted from a report prepared by Reitex International, presented to the European Drug Abuse Monitoring Agency which pointed out that a systematic random checks on inmates at Corradino for drug use, had been stopped.
The reason quoted in the report was simply "administrative."
The testing was meant to have restarted this year, however, so far nothing has been done.
Miriam Dalli joined MaltaToday.com.mt in 2010 becoming assistant editor f...
•
TAHT GONZIPN... GHALFEJN QED TISKANTAW??
FLIMKIEN KOLLOX POSSIBBLI.
•
@ thor...trid tkun wiccek mcappas bic-cikkulata biex tghaddi kumment bhal dak....
•
A full scale investigation should be held so we can see what was happening for all those two years .
•
Mela issa qed nifhem ..... jigifieri f'dawk is-snin kollha meta Tonio Borg kien responsabbli mill-intern u kien jidhol qisu l-vara l-kbira fil-knisja ta' Hal Lija ghall-quddies tat-tmienja ta' nhar ta' Hadd dejjem xi hames minuti tard biex kulhadd ikun jista' jammirah, dak iz-zmien ma kellu ebda ideja bit-tahwid, bit-tgerfix u bil-korruzzjoni li kien hemm fil-habs ta' Kordin!!!! U allura la ma kienx jaf, ma kienx responsabbli - x'ahna sbieh min jaf jarana!!!!
•
U jekk id-Direttur tal-habs tal-lum jinsisti li s-siwazzjoni fil-habs illum hi ahjar milli kienet fi zmien il-hnizrijiet ta' Bickle (kif qal f'intervista fuq TVM il-bierah), il-gvern ghandu jaghmel inkjesta minnufih biex tohrog il-verita'. Jien wisq nibza' li l-verita' harget minn halq il-Pips, ex-habsi u espert fid-droga li nhareg mill-habs dan l-ahhar. Il-Ministri Tonio Borg u Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici ghandom hafna xi jwiegbu fuq il-hnizrijiet li hallew isiru gewwa l-habs.
•
What is funny is the fact that gonziPN criticize previous labour governments because one could not buy MARS bars or Pepsodent toothpaste but it is OK that under the unrestrained nationalist governments one could buy Magistrates and Drugs at the CCF.
