Around half of parole applications rejected

Roughly half of the 155 prisoners who have applied for parole since November 2014 have had their applications turned down.

Home affairs minister Carmelo Abela said this evening that 72 requests were rejected, while 55 were accepted, and a further 21 are still pending.

Abela was responding to a parliamentary question by Opposition MP and former home affairs minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici.

Parole was introduced in Malta in January 2012, aimed at reintegrating prisoners into society.