Call for inquiry into Amnesty's torture claims

Labour home affairs spokesman Gavin Gulia has called on Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg to order an inquiry into the application process for refugee status of 220 Eritreans who are claiming they were tortured on their repatriation in 2002.

Dr Gulia was referring to an Amnesty International report on the plight of these Eritreans, published yesterday and highlights of which appeared in The Times yesterday.

The report described several episodes of torture on the illegal immigrants after they were deported from Malta.

A number of questions e-mailed by The Times to Dr Borg's office yesterday remained unanswered by the time of going to print.

The Times was told the minister was very busy and it was unlikely he would find time to reply to the questions by yesterday.

Dr Gulia said the details of the acts of torture were so meticulous that they could not be ignored and the government, which for the past months had been saying it did not have information on maltreatment of the illegal immigrants in their country, should immediately investigate Amnesty International's allegations, which put Malta to shame with the international community.

He said the inquiry should be led by a judge assisted by persons of integrity who were knowledgeable in the sector.

It should establish who ordered the deportation of the Eritreans, when it had taken place and if there had been political or administrative pressure for the deportation to take place.

The government should show, particularly through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that it was committed to getting to the bottom of the matter, he said.

Dr Gulia appealed to the government to do this quickly if it wanted to appear credible, transparent and accountable with the international community.

A total of 170 of the Eritreans had not applied for refugee status.