Fifty migrants attack the Maltese government for violating their rights. These migrants claim that Valletta knowingly orchestrated the interception of their canoe by a merchant ship before ordering their return to Libya.
Fifty migrants, as well as the relatives of two men who died at sea in a rescue operation coordinated by Malta, have filed a complaint against the Maltese Prime Minister, the Minister of the Interior, and the head of the Maltese army for non- respect for the Maltese Constitution and the Convention on Human Rights.
The plaintiffs, supported by the Maltese civil rights organization Republika, accuse the Maltese government of violations of their rights.
Last April, their dinghy was intercepted at sea by a merchant ship, the Dar As-Salam 1, while sailing in Maltese waters. The commercial boat then handed over the migrants to the Libyan Coast Guard. The latter forwarded them to the port of Tripoli. Five bodies were also on board.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) at the time condemned this action, recalling that “people rescued at sea must not be returned to a dangerous port.โ
“Inhuman and degrading treatment.”
According to the complainants, this refoulement operation was coordinated by Valletta. Comments corroborated by a New York Times investigation published on April 30. The American daily revealed that the Maltese authorities had chartered since the beginning of the month a fleet of private ships, including the Dar As-Salam 1, in order to prevent migrants from reaching the island and send them back to Libya.
Thus, the fifty migrants accuse Malta of being responsible for the “inhuman and degrading treatment” they suffered after their return to Libya and their placement in a detention center. They also blame the Maltese government for violating their “right to life” and failing to respect the country’s obligations, which oblige it to examine asylum claims.
An expert interviewed by the American daily warned of the illegal nature of this action by Malta. This “could put Maltese state officials at risk of criminal liability, at home or abroad,” said Itamar Mann, an expert in maritime and refugee law at the University of Haifa, Israel.