A 20-year-old African man has claimed he was left handcuffed to a railing for hours after being tasered and dragged along the ground by police officers for failing to follow orders.

Mohammed Ali says he was left humiliated and in pain after the alleged incident at Ħal Far open centre last week, which was sparked by a row over the payment of his monthly allowance.

“He (one of the police officers) told me I should go and I said, ‘Why?’. And for this reason he pushed me to the ground and then he put electricity on me,” Mr Ali told Times of Malta.

Two other migrants living at the open centre said they saw him being thrown to the floor and then dragged off by three policemen during the incident on November 6.

Mr Ali, who is Sudanese and has been living in Malta for six months, claims he was then left handcuffed to a railing for two hours and that police threatened to leave him there until he apologised.

Photographs show him in handcuffs as well as with a wound on his leg and shoulder.

A wound on Mohammed Ali's shoulder.

Police have not responded to any questions about the allegations, which come less than a month after Times of Malta revealed the brutal treatment of migrants at the hands of prison authorities.

The issue began when Mr Ali confronted officials who run the open centre, regarding his monthly allowance, which he claims was €30 less than what he was entitled to.

He pushed me to the ground and then he put electricity on me

He said he was frustrated that the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers (AWAS) had made a mistake with his cheque, and did not want to leave until they looked into the issue.

“When the police came, one of them pushed me and I told him, ‘Don’t touch me’,” said Mr Ali.

“He asked me to put my hands up and he searched my clothes and he didn’t find anything.”

He said he was released from handcuffs after two hours, and was left humiliated and in pain by the experience.

His friend and witness, Altajeb Abdulrahmen said police “dragged him outside by the head where he was handcuffed to a metal bar”.

Mr Abdulrahmen said tensions at the open centre had worsened since the mass riot in October.

“After the Ħal Far riot, treatment at the camp has become very harsh,” he said.

“Without the violation of any law, you will be treated very badly by the police in a very undignified way. Malta is not safe for us.”

AWAS did not release an official statement but a source acknowledged that there was an issue over Mr Ali’s cheque. The source said the incident report claimed Mr Ali was shouting at staff, at one point tearing a document up and throwing it at them. They called the police in as a last resort after failing to calm him down, he claimed.

Mr Ali and the two witnesses deny that he was being aggressive. “I was not aggressive or violent. I even put my hands behind my back voluntarily. I just didn’t want to leave before they fixed my cheque,” he said.

AWAS provides different amounts of daily allowances based on an asylum seeker’s status, with the maximum set at €4.66.

The daily allowance provided is barely enough to provide for basic needs, and the lack of access to social welfare support exacerbates these difficulties.

Migrants living in open centres are required to regularly confirm residence through signing, three times per week. If migrants fail to sign up they lose or receive a reduction in their financial allowance.

Mr Ali said that he was certain he had signed when required because he had not been able to find work yet, which is why he persisted in asking AWAS to look into the mistake. 

The Home Affairs Ministry did not acknowledge questions sent by Times of Malta on the issue.

The police acknowledged questions sent last Saturday but had not answered at the time of writing.