Migrants express fear and concern on increasing racism

A sizeable crowd of migrants and human rights activists this morning gathered outside the law court in Valletta to voice their concerns about the acquittal of the person accused of assaulting Suleiman Abubaker who had died as a result of the assault in Paceville.

The persons present also spoke about the recent assault and death of Osama Al Shzliaoy , who was found lying in a pool of blood early Saturday morning, in Paceville. Al Shzliaoy was one of the first persons to criticise the acquittal on Facebook and a few days later he suffered the same fate of Sulemain.

A number of representatives from the Migrants' Network for Equality expressed their anger and disappointment at the acquittal of the person charged with the assault of Sulemain in 2009.

The Sudanese migrant died on 9 June 2009 from extensive head injuries he sustained in an attack by a bouncer outside Footloose bar in Paceville, on 29 May 2009.

Abubaker, a migrant with temporary humanitarian status, is believed to have died after being hit by bouncer Duncan Deguara. Deguara was subsequently arraigned and charged with grievously injuring Abubaker

Andre Callus from Moviment Graffitti described the court case as "flawed" and asked why the prosecution did not ask the questions which civil society and migrants are asking.

Callus asked why the prosecution did not hear the testimony of two key witnesses. He said that the two French students who where in Paceville together with Sulemain on the night he was assaulted were not called to testify but instead the prosecution relied on the statements the two wrote three years ago.

"However, nearly all the witnesses that where physically present in court had some kind of tie with the accused," Callus said.

On the testimony of Paceville entrepreneur Frankie Grima who described Sulemain as a violent person, the Moviment Graffitti spokesperson said that it is well known that Grima's establishments have long established a racist policy. "The credibility of this witness is obviously very doubtful."

Callus also said that one of the witnesses, Ashley Conti, a dancer at the club where the Sulemain incident took place, admitted that she had filmed the incident on her mobile phone but deleted the footage. After being asked to pass her phone to the police as it was still possible to retrieve the footage she had claimed that she lost the phone.

"Where was the prosecution in front of all this?" asked Callus. "We believe that in the case of Sulemain a very bad message was put across, that is violence committed on African persons is less serious than violence committed on others," Callus said.

Callus added that migrants are often advised by legal aides to plead guilty to get over with proceedings and court rarely grants migrants bail. "Additionally, the police do not take cases of violence on migrants seriously. The problem does not lie at the feet of individuals but the problem, lies within the system."

He added that the case "reflects a wider system where African people are treated differently by the institutions." Callus added that the prosecution was basically absent and Sulemain was often referred to as 'l-iswed'. "We think that this is symptomatic of a justice system that treats immigrants in an unequal way."

During Sulemain's court case, there were at least six references to the victim Suleiman Abubaker as the 'black man' (l-iswed) when words failed both lawyers and witnesses in spelling out the Sudanese victim's name. The references were made by witnesses Ashley Conti and Christian Tanti. Judge Michael Mallia and prosecutor Maurizio Cordina also referred to the victim as the 'black man'.

Callus said that the death of Al Shzliaoy has "deeply shocked migrants and has installed fear in the community." He also appealed to the authorities to stage "a fair, honest and serious trial once the culprits are captured."

Last Sunday, the police appealed to the public to assist them in identifying and arrest two men - presumed to be Eastern European nationals - in connection to the brutal beating of Osama Al Shzliaoy  in the early hours of Saturday.

In a highly emotional address, a migrant present at this mornings' press conference called on the police and other authorities to publish more pictures and CCTV footage of the assault on Al Shzliaoy   which took place in almost the same spot in which Sulemain was beaten three years ago.

The migrants' expressed their fear that the same thing might happen to them and said that they are concerned because the justice system is not working properly.