Legal advisors from the human rights NGO Aditus have been denied access to the Safi Detention Centre in violation of EU and Maltese law, according to its director Neil Falzon.

No formal explanation was given to Aditus regarding the decision to bar them from visiting their clients at the detention centre, Dr Falzon said.

However, the ban took place two weeks ago, following swiftly on the judgment in a recent court case that pronounced the ongoing detention of asylum seekers in Safi as unlawful.

This led Dr Falzon to believe the decision was taken to prevent more migrants from filing court cases about the unlawfulness of being held in detention for over 10 weeks.

“We are concerned that this decision was taken following the six judgments where the ongoing detention regime was declared illegal. We feel that the ministry’s decision seeks to prevent further similar rulings,” he said.

A month ago, six asylum seekers, assisted by lawyers from Aditus Foundation and Jesuit Refugees Services, filed habeas corpus proceedings on the grounds they had been detained beyond the legal limit of 10 weeks.

The court ruled that the detention of migrants for more than 10 weeks on the basis of health laws was unlawful and the migrants should be released.

According to EU and national law on the reception of asylum seekers, legal advisers “shall be given the possibility to communicate with and visit applicants in detention in conditions that respect privacy.”

“Effectively, the decision to deny legal advisors access to Safi denies detained asylum-seekers information about their fundamental human rights and prevents them from having recourse to the remedies the law provides them to secure their rights,” said Dr Falzon.

The organisation has since written to the relevant authorities reminding them of the right of detained asylum-seekers to be visited by their legal advisors.

The Health Ministry did not respond to questions by Times of Malta on the issue, at the time of writing.