Syrian man who helped wife enter Malta illegally jailed for three months
Yazan Abdulazziz is currently on bail for a case relating to terrorism charges
A Syrian man was jailed for three months and fined €1,000 after admitting to assisting his wife and a friend’s wife to enter Malta illegally.
Yazan Abdulazziz, 29, pleaded guilty to breaching immigration laws and committing an offence while out on bail in a separate case.
In 2023, he and six other men were targeted by police over suspicious jihadist activity on social media. They were eventually charged with terrorism.
During the arraignment, Magistrate Antoine Agius Bonnici heard that police investigations revealed Abdulazziz had helped bring his wife to Malta without the required documentation. He also gave his personal documents to a friend, who used them to travel out of Malta and return with his own wife, also without the necessary papers.
Defence lawyer Jose Herrera, who represented Abdulazziz together with lawyer Martina Herrera, said the accused and his family had been living in Syria during a period of political instability when their lives were in danger.
He had fled the country with his wife for safety, eventually reaching Malta, where he applied for asylum, which is still pending.
Meanwhile, his wife and their three-year-old daughter remained in a camp in Greece. He brought her and the child to Malta to reunite his family.
In delivering judgment, the magistrate ordered the confiscation of €5,000 - half of the €10,000 bail deposit - after finding that the accused had breached his bail conditions by committing another offence.