Asylum seekers are being detained illegally for weeks on end in unsanitary conditions on the pretext of health checks, a group of 34 NGOs have said.
The NGOs noted that the law only allows authorities to detain people for periods of up to four weeks which can under exceptional circumstances be extended to 10 weeks.
However, people brought to Malta after being rescued at sea were often spending anything up to 13 weeks under lock and key, with nobody telling them how long they would be kept there.
“It would appear that in practice the main reason for their ongoing detention is the lack of space in the open centres,” the NGOs said in a statement on Friday.
“While we fully appreciate the strain that the large number of arrivals has placed on Malta’s reception system, resource constraints, no matter how severe, can and should never be used to justify deprivation of liberty”.
The NGOs urged authorities to immediately release anyone currently in detention for medical screening and said existing resources needed to be increased to ensure authorities could cope with the strain.
Why did NGOs issue the statement?
The statement comes just a few days after several people being held at a detention centre at the Armed Forces of Malta’s Safi barracks protested loudly at night, banging on gates and yelling “freedom”.
A man who was detained inside the barracks for several weeks told Times of Malta that conditions were abysmal, with people lining up outside toilets to get drinking water from taps and other basic necessities, such as toothpaste, disregarded.
Malta’s facilities for asylum seekers have been stretched over the past months following the arrival of hundreds of migrants rescued by a series of charity rescue ships operating in the central Mediterranean.
The Maltese government has allowed the migrants in after striking relocation deals with several other EU member states. Some member states have started taking in their share of the asylum seekers. Others have yet to do so.
In their statement, the NGOs said that while they were pleased to see Malta assume “leadership” and provide the migrants with a safe haven, work now had to be undertaken to ensure the country’s reception system could cope with arrivals.
“We affirm once more our willingness to support any and all initiatives aimed at improving reception conditions for asylum seekers in Malta,” they said.
Which NGOs endorsed the statement?
1. aditus foundation
2. African Media Association Malta
3. Agara Foundation
4. Catholic Voices
5. Christian Life Communities (CLC)
6. Cross Culture International Foundation (CCIF)
7. Dar tal-Providenza
8. Department of Gender Studies, Faculty for Social Wellbeing, University of Malta
9. Drachma LGBTI
10. Drachma Parents’ Group
11. Fondazzjoni Sebh
12. Foundation for Shelter and Support to Migrants
13. Fundazzjoni Paci u Gid
14. Integra Foundation
15. Isles of the Left
16. Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Malta
17. Jesuits in Malta
18. Kopin
19. Kummissjoni Gustizzja u Paci
20. Malta Emigrants Commission
21. Moviment Graffiti
22. Office of the Dean, Faculty for Social Wellbeing, University of Malta
23. Office of the Dean, Faculty of Education, University of Malta
24. Paolo Freire Institute
25. Richmond Foundation
26. Salesians of Don Bosco
27. Segretarjat Assistenza Socjali Azzjoni Kattolika Maltija
28. Solidarity with Migrants Group
29. SOS Malta
30. Spark 15
31. St Jeanne Antide Foundation
32. The Critical Institute
33. Women’s Rights Foundation
34. Youth Alive Foundation