The case of three young men accused of hijacking an oil tanker when they were teenagers is set to continue after a court threw out a request to put a stop to the charges over a dispute on Malta’s jurisdiction over the case. 

Lawyers for Abdul Kader, Amara Kromah and Abdalla Bari had previously filed a pre-trial submission in front of Judge Consuelo Scerri Herrera seeking to drop the case against the men, arguing that Malta did not have jurisdiction over the case. 

This is because when the incident in question occurred, the ship was located within a site off the coast of Tripoli, over which the Maltese state could not claim jurisdiction, they argued.

However, in a quick sitting on Thursday, Judge Scerri Herrera turned down this request and ruled that the case would go forward as planned. 

The defence has said that it plans to appeal this judgement. 

The three men are facing terrorism charges and have been accused of attempting to hijack a ship that rescued them at sea after fearing that the ship’s captain was attempting to return them to Libya. 

While the tanker was making its way to Malta, the AFM intercepted its path and took control of the vessel. 

Bari, Kromah, and Kader were detained, arrested and charged with a raft of accusations, ranging from acts of terrorism, illegal arrest and private violence in 2019. They remained in preventative custody for eight months and were only granted bail in November 2019. 

They continue to deny the charges brought against them and say that they were simply acting as translators on behalf of the other people on board the ship as they were the only ones who could speak English and communicate with the captain. 

'Their youth has been stolen'

In a statement, the Coalition for the El Hiblu 3 - a group of NGOs and members of civil society that support Bari, Kromah, and Kader’s cause, said that the case against the men having not been dismissed is “appalling” and that the three remain in legal limbo after more than five years. 

Since the incident, their youth had been stolen and their lives were put on hold indefinitely simply for acting as mediators, they said.

“We have said it for years: clearly, they are neither criminals nor terrorists. They are defenders of human rights,” they said. 

“That the three are still not free of the charges is devastating. The case that Amnesty International has condemned as a ‘travesty of justice’ is still not over.”