The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Malta to pay compensation to six young migrants who suffered a breach of their rights when they were detained here upon their arrival.

The applicants, are six Bangladeshi nationals, arrived in Malta on 18 November 2022 after being rescued at sea. They alleged that they were 16-17 years old at the time. The case concerned their detention in the Ħal Far Initial Reception Centre for almost two months after their arrival, then for at least another four months in the Safi Detention Centre. Five of the applicants were released in May 2023 and accommodated in an open centre for minors, while the remaining applicant, who was found to be an adult, left Malta in August 2023 after his application for asylum was rejected.

The court held, unanimously, that the five minor migrants had suffered inhuman or degrading treatment throughout their detention and a violation of their right to an effective remedy.

The applicants had also suffered a violation of their right to liberty and security and their right to have the lawfulness of detention decided speedily by a court.

The court ordered Malta to pay the adult migrant €9,000 and the remaining applicants €15,000 each in respect of non-pecuniary damage, and EUR 6,000 jointly in respect of costs and expenses.

It also called on Malta to ensure that legislation is put in place for the Immigration Appeals Tribunal to conform with the requirements of independence and impartiality and to put in place a remedy, effective both in law and in practice, to complaints about ongoing detention conditions. 

The court's decision in full can be found here.

Foundation demands government action after court decision

The aditus Foundation, which had assisted the victims in court, welcomed the judgement.

"This is not the first time Europe’s top human rights court has criticised the way Malta fails to properly handle human rights violations. Once again, it concluded that our Constitutional proceedings are not effective as they fail to offer victims a worthwhile and real remedy. It remains a very serious concern that our justice system fails to perform this most basic yet crucial task," the foundation said. 

"Again, the court underlined that detained persons – especially children and other vulnerable persons – face serious challenges obtaining basic information on their rights and on procedures to secure them. Stripped of their phones and of contact with the outside world, Malta’s detention centres effectively block them from what we all consider to be obvious protections and safeguards."

The court also upheld arguments that the Immigration Appeals Board needed a radical revisiting in line with human rights standards.

"This is a recommendation we have been making for years, primarily in our submissions to the EU Commission for the Rule of Law reports. Now that our recommendation has also been upheld by the European Court of Human Rights, we look forward to pushing it higher on the EU’s own rule of law agenda!," the foundation said.