Updated 2pm with reaction below.

Three young men facing terrorism charges in connection with an alleged ship mutiny have lost their latest bid to have the case dismissed.

The trio - known as the El Hiblu 3 after the ship involved in the 2019 incident - had argued that a Maltese court had no jurisdiction over the case as the alleged crimes took place outside Maltese territorial waters and no Maltese citizens were involved.

A court had dismissed that claim in May 2024 but the defendants appealed that decision. On Wednesday, a court of appeal upheld the original verdict. 

“These facts... can only be decided by the jury during the trial,” a court composed of Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti and judges Edwina Grima and Giovanni Grixti concluded.

The three defendants - Amara Kromah, Abdul Kader and Abdalla Bari - were teenagers when they were detained and arrested aboard the oil tanker El Hiblu in 2019 after the armed forces intercepted it while out at sea.

The ship had rescued a group of migrants off Libya and was returning them to a Libyan port when the rescued passengers allegedly hijacked the vessel and ordered its captain to turn around and sail towards Malta.

Police allege that the hijacking was led by Kromah, Kader and Bari, who were aged 15, 16 and 19 at the time. The Attorney General subsequently charged all three with terrorism-related crimes. They were held in custody for nine months and granted bail in November 2019.

They deny all charges and say they were serving as translators for others in the group, as they could communicate with the captain in English.  One of the three defendants, Kader, has been missing since 2023 and is believed to have fled Malta.

Campaigners protesting outside the courts in favour of the El Hiblu 3.

Their case has attracted international attention and has been the subject of a campaign by the international human rights group Amnesty International.

Prominent local figures led by former President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca have also campaigned for charges against the three to be dropped.

'Shattered, devastated and angry'

Speaking on Wednesday after the court decision, defendant Abdalla Bari said he was “shattered” by the verdict.

“[Over] the past five years, I had a very messy and complicated life and I don’t know when this ordeal will finally end. But one thing is clear, I have faith in God that all this will end one day, because we are innocent,” he said.

Fellow defendant Amara Kromah said he was “devastated and angry”.

“When we finally had the opportunity to escape the inhumane treatments in Libya, we couldn't afford to be returned to a place where our freedoms and safety were not guaranteed anymore and coming to Malta was the only option we had to save our lives,” he added.

A group of over 30 activists and groups supporting the defendants said the Maltese state was out to “make an example” of the three young men “to deter others from defending their basic human rights and righteously resisting push-backs to Libya.”

“These forced returns are a clear violation of international law, constituting a threat to returnees’ lives and wellbeing,” they said.

‘Everything wrong with migration policies in central Mediterranean’

Amnesty International meanwhile referred to the court's decision as "disappointing", adding it was a missed opportunity to put an end to Abdalla and Amara’s ordeal.

“Malta’s misuse of the criminal justice system to deter people from attempting to seek safety in Europe is unacceptable.

"This case represents everything that is wrong with EU institutions and member states’ migration policies in the central Mediterranean," Amnesty said in a statement. 

The case, the organisation added, has been marred by human rights violations including the detention of the then-children in adult facilities, their prosecution in adult courts and the failure to call key witnesses to testify and to provide adequate interpretation.

"The case should never have been brought to trial in the first place. It’s high time to put an end to this travesty of justice so that the El Hiblu 3 can get on with their lives.”

These three should be praised for their courage, not punished - Marie-Louise Coleiro

The Coalition for the El Hiblu 3, a group of NGOs backing the accused and insisted they should not be punished.

"We stand in solidarity with Abdalla, Amara and Kader who should be celebrated as heroes, not persecuted as criminals," the coalition said. 

Speakers at a press conference included former president Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, the president of the Mediterranean Children’s Movement, and African Media Association representative Regine Psaila, William Grech, director of Kopin and University of Malta academic Maria Pisani. 

Coldiro Preca said the three were minors when they were accused and they had been facing unjust charges for 2,127 days. They had been robbed of their childhood and youth.  

She insisted that the charges should be withdrawn.

"These are young people, who, because they could speak English and were asked to translate, ended up facing serious criminal charges," she said. 

They had saved people and avoided a push-back to detention camps which even the pope had likened to nazi camps.   

These three should be praised for their courage, not unjustly accused and punished.  

The authorities, she said, should shoulder responsibility for the inhuman treatment they had suffered. 

Former President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca speaking outside the law courts.