Disturbance leads illegal immigrants back to police HQ

Thousands of liri worth of damage has been caused at the Hal Far Immigration Centre in a disturbance by the estimated 100 illegal immigrants being detained there.

Police said the incident was sparked off at around 12.30 p.m. yesterday, after a mattress was set ablaze in one of the corridors by one of the detainees.

As a result of this, the soffitt caught fire, spreading to seriously damage the centre's electricity system.

Police from the special assignment group and district police were called in until the rowdy detainees were calmed down and the blaze was extinguished. No one was injured.

Police said the illegal immigrants were transferred temporarily to the Police Headquarters until Hal Far becomes habitable again.

Sources said that trouble had been brewing since Saturday after a number of pills were allegedly found in the possession of the detainees.

Some of the immigrants are finding themselves in a desperate situation, having been detained for months on end, sources told The Times.

Yesterday's is not the first disturbance by the immigrants.

Last June, a number of asylum seekers detained at police headquarters turned violent and subsequently had to be controlled by police in riot gear.

Glass panes were smashed and cars damaged in an incident during which a policeman had to be taken to hospital with head injuries.

In September 2002, a serious disturbance broke out at Ta' Kandja detention centre as illegal immigrants demanding to be allowed out of Malta turned violent, forcing police to fire rubber bullets.

And in March 2002, at the same Hal Far Immigration Centre, 61 detainees put up barricades of mattresses and furniture in a corridor and refused to eat for several hours. A number of other incidents were also reported there.

Detention facilities are currently strained to the limit following a constant inflow of immigrants over the past months.