News Archives - Page 3 of 34 - aditus foundation

A new cooperation to strengthen our fight against illegal detention, because #ThereAreAlternatives

We are thrilled to announce a new cooperation that will strengthen our fight against illegal detention in Malta. Throughout 2023, we will be cooperating with the German NGO PRO ASYL in all our detention activities. This cooperation will boost our #ThereAreAlternatives campaign, pushing for Malta to bring its practices in line with fundamental human rights law.

In particular, PRO ASYL is providing us with financial support that will allow our lawyers to be more present in the detention centres to meet detained persons and see to their legal needs. This cooperation is also ensuring that our lawyers are able to visit our clients with much-needed interpreters, and to provide the people we meet with Fact Sheets about their legal situation.

ToM: ElHiblu3 cargo ship linked to phantom terrorism incident, owned by self-proclaimed “Libyan Pirate”, caught smuggling € 76 million worth of cocaine.

The Times of Malta reports that:

The #ElHiblu3 cargo ship, linked to phantom terrorism incident in Malta in 2019 and owned by self-proclaimed “Libyan Pirate” Salah Ali Muhammad El Hiblu, was caught smuggling circa € 76 million worth of cocaine in Spain in 2021. The crew attempted to scuttle the vessel once they realised they were being intercepted, however, the Spanish police managed to recover the illegal cargo.

Why do we have (big) issues with Malta’s Immigration Appeals Board?

The Immigration Appeal Board is established under Malta’s Immigration Act. It is tasked with deciding appeals on a long and varied list of immigration decisions: visas, age assessments, detention of asylum-seekers, reception conditions, removal orders, Single Work Permits, Specific Residence Authorisation… Because this list is so long and because it affects a core element of people’s lives, we cannot underline how important this Board is in Malta’s migration regime.

We appear before this Board on a weekly basis. In most situations, our clients are appealing decisions to detain them or decisions stating that they are adults and not children. But we have (big) issues with the Board, from how the law establishes it to how it operates in practice. These issues are presented in a recently-published article here.

Victory in two important cases, securing our clients’ dignity and rights!

On 10 May 2023 the Court of Appeal delivered an important judgement on the status of holders of Specific Residence Authorisation (SRA). The judgement made a number of important points that clarify how Malta should be treating people who have chosen to make Malta their home. Our Pro Bono Unit is honoured to have had the opportunity to assist Mr. Ekogiawe in his struggle to secure his and his family’s legal status. It is encouraging for us and for our clients to see justice served in a way that respects their dignity and rights.

Mr. Ekogiawe came to Malta in 2008. After his asylum application was rejected, he was granted Temporary Humanitarian Protection New (THPN) on the basis of his efforts at integrating in Malta. Thanks to his continuous efforts at integrating in Malta, this status was regularly renewed. Since 2012 he has been in stable and regular employment, and in 2018 he and his partner had a baby girl.

Comprehensive report on Malta’s asylum regime 2022: AIDA report

We are extremely happy to share with you the publication of the most comprehensive report on Malta’s asylum regime, covering 2022: the Asylum Information Database report (AIDA). This year, the report also includes a separate Annex providing detailed information on the implementation in Malta of the Temporary Protection Directive throughout 2022. The AIDA report is published by ECRE.

The report provides in-depth information on the various aspects of the asylum regime: asylum procedure, reception conditions, detention, content of international protection. It is based on months of desk research, complemented with information provided by various entities…who we sincerely thank for their cooperation.