Updated 4.30pm
Amnesty International has described the Attorney General's decision to issue terrorism charges against three young men involved in the El Hiblu 3 ship saga as a "travesty of justice".
The men who acted as mediators between the crew and a group of panicked asylum seekers will now face trial and possible life imprisonment, the international organisation said in a statement.
“The Attorney General has taken more than four-and-a-half years to make the worst possible decision," Amnesty said.
The three are accused of hijacking an oil tanker in March 2019, when they were 15, 16 and 19 years old, allegedly attempting to stop their illegal return to Libya by the crew of a ship that rescued them at sea.
Malta’s Attorney General has now decided they are to face terrorism charges and a Bill of Indictment against them was filed earlier this month. If found guilty, all three can face life sentences in prison. One of the youths, however, has been missing since summer and is believed to have fled Malta.
Amnesty joined a chorus of protesters to appeal to the Maltese authorities to drop the charges against the El Hiblu 3 and spare the young men further injustice.
“The indictment fails to recognise they were part of a group of more than 100 asylum seekers faced with an illegal pushback to Libya which would have put their lives at risk. Yet, they are the ones who might now need to defend themselves against charges ranging from ‘acts of terrorism’ to ‘violence’.
“The inquiry that has led to the indictment has been marred by serious procedural irregularities, including the detention of the then children in adult facilities, their prosecution in adult courts, and the failure to call key witnesses to testify.
In a separate statement also reacting to the news, the El Hiblu 3 Campaign said the Maltese state is trying to make an example of the three accused to deter others from "similarly and righteously" resisting push-backs to Libya.
It appealed to the public for help in demanding justice and ending the trial before it starts by signing petitions.
“Resisting illegal push-backs to Libya is not a crime. Free the El Hiblu 3. We demand now more than ever: Drop the charges,” the campaign insisted.
Their lawyer, Neil Falzon, said the evidence shows the trio had actually intended to save the lives of the men, women and children on board.
The campaigners have started an online petition on change.org demanding the AG drop the charges.
The Coalition for the El Hiblu 3 called the charges “unfounded” and “unsubstantiated”.
“We are convinced that the El Hiblu 3 did the right thing: they helped diffuse a tense situation at sea and helped prevent an illegal pushback to Libya. Abdalla, Amara, and Kader are heroes, not criminals,” the campaigners said.
'Symbolic punishment for all migrants'
Civil society group Repubblika reiterated its solidarity with the three men who, it said, were only guilty of knowing English.
It said that the charges of terrorism, illegal arrest and violence are “ridiculous” and certainly do not tally to the circumstances of the El Hiblu incident.
By using these laws against the three the state is devaluating the seriousness of this legislation, Repubblika said.
Worse than this, it was denying these three people their right to live their lives.
“Malta is punishing them in this severe manner and threatening to throw them in prison for life because it wants to but cannot punish every migrant arriving in Malta.
“It is seeking to make of them a harsh example with a symbolic punishment to collectively condemn all those guilty of trying to seek a better life for themselves.”
This, Repubblika said, was prejudicial and discriminatory racial behaviour as well as abusive and inhumane use of the law. Such behaviour was shaming all the Maltese.
The only hope that remained was that the courts would finally acknowledge the injustice and free them from the empty accusations, condemning the state for such “cruelty and vile discrimination”.
The El Hiblu saga
Bari, Kromah, and Kader are alleged to have hijacked the ship that rescued them at sea, the El Hiblu, after fearing that its captain was returning them to Libya.
As the tanker sailed to Malta, it was intercepted by an AFM special forces unit, which took control of the vessel and brought it to shore.
All three were detained, arrested and charged following that March 2019 incident.
The charges ranged from acts of terrorism to illegal arrest and private violence. They were just 15, 19 and 16 years old at the time.
The three were held in police custody for eight months and granted bail in November 2019.
They deny charges and say they were just serving as translators for others aboard the ship, as they spoke English and could communicate with the captain.