Migrants and Refugees in Malta

On 12 and 13 April, 35 people were arrested by the police. Hailing from Syria, Afghanistan, Ghana, Brazil, Mali, Nepal, Pakistan, Niger, Gambia, Sudan and Ivory coast, these migrants were considered to be in an “irregular” situation. Police said they would be detained until they are returned to their country of origin or to a country where they are allowed to reside “legally”.
On 10 April, The Times of Malta published an article reporting that nine asylum seekers were each awarded €20,000 in compensation for the harm they suffered, after being detained for several weeks on tourist boats in 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, outside Maltese territorial waters, without an official explanation or access to the asylum procedure. They denounced the inhumane conditions of detention: lack of medical care, lack of information, and prohibition of contact with their lawyers. These men were among the 425 migrants who fled Libya in makeshift boats.

Malta