Amnesty calls for impartial inquiry

Amnesty International has called for a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the "deliberate and gratuitous" violence unleashed by the Armed Forces of Malta yesterday during a protest by illegal immigrants.

Amnesty said it received reports that members of the Armed Forces had subjected asylum seekers and illegal immigrants to physical assault resulting in numerous injuries.

It said the detainees, some of whom had been in captivity for over 18 months, were protesting over the length of their detention, lack of information about the progress of their applications for refugee status or humanitarian protection and, in the case of those whose applications for asylum had already been rejected, lack of information concerning their future.

The human rights watchdog said eyewitnesses reported that soldiers, armed with truncheons and shields, charged the peaceful protestors without warning and subjected them to deliberate and gratuitous violence.

"If these allegations are substantiated, then such ill-treatment would be in clear violation of international treaties and standards ratified by Malta, as well as domestic law," Amnesty said. The perpetrators of such human rights violations should be brought to justice and the victims should receive compensation, it added.

Amnesty has repeatedly expressed concern about the situation of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants in Malta and the government's policy of mandatory detention for all asylum seekers entering the country.

It has called on the authorities to ensure that, in line with relevant international standards, asylum-seekers are detained only when a legitimate reason for doing so has been demonstrated in the individual case, when other measures short of detention will not suffice and only for a minimal period.

The organisation has also expressed concern about severe delays in what it claimed was the decision-making process regarding asylum applications and a lack of transparency in the appeals process.

The incidents yesterday coincided with the visit to Malta of Michele Manca de Nissa, a United Nations human rights official.

Mr de Nissa was not allowed into the barracks as he tried to speak to the illegal immigrants on a routine visit. "I saw two ambulances driving past and the authorities told me it wasn't safe to go in and that they're sorry for what had happened," he told The Times.

Mr de Nissa plans to visit the Safi Barracks today.