In the highly sensitive international political climate that exists at the moment, the last thing anyone wants to see are pictures or graphic images of prisoners being abused or tortured. They are abhorrent irrespective of whether the victims are guilty of any crime or not.
On Wednesday, The Times published images of torture methods that Amnesty International is claiming were used on illegal immigrants deported from Malta upon their return to Eritrea. Accompanying the images were extracts of a 47-page report. One account claimed: "They beat them in front of us until they were vomiting blood. They tied them in the 'helicopter' method for 55 days in the heat". And the graphic descriptions went on and on.
That day, Labour home affairs spokesman Gavin Gulia rightly called on Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg to order an inquiry into the application process for the refugee status of the 220 Eritreans claiming they were tortured. Dr Borg's office was contacted by The Times for a reaction to the report. For reasons best known to themselves, they failed to offer a single word in response. They may claim they were too busy. Somebody else may say they did not consider the matter to be of sufficient importance. Whatever the case, they certainly have a serious misconception of priorities.
Yesterday, a reaction from the government was finally forthcoming but there was no mention of any inquiry being launched. It merely stated it had no authority to declare whether a person should be granted or refused refugee or humanitarian status - those matters were in the hands of the Refugee Commission and the Refugee Appeals Board. Furthermore, it contended that when the illegal immigrants were repatriated two years ago, Eritrea was considered a "safe country" by the UNHCR. And then came the statement's stomach churner: "... there are only allegations that some of the returned Eritreans were tortured".
The government may not have had authority to declare a person a refugee but surely it does have authority, a duty no less, to act in a compassionate manner. And although it states that the UNHCR considered Eritrea as a safe country, the government was told by more than one organisation in November 2002 that it would be making a very serious mistake to repatriate them because they risked torture or death upon their return. Calls by a London-based Eritrean group at that time for the suspension of the deportation of the illegal immigrants were brushed aside by a Home Affairs Ministry spokesman who said the group's main interest was to create unrest in Eritrea. The ministry had added that "reliable contacts" in Eritrea had dismissed claims they would be tortured.
The sound made by those "reliable contacts" has a very hollow ring to it while there is no evidence to counter the claims made in Amnesty's report. This is why the need is so vital - and immediate - to launch an independent inquiry into the basis of the decision made at that time.
But what beggars belief is the lack of any political responsibility displayed by the Home Affairs Minister since this report was published. It is time for the Prime Minister to take the issue into his own hands and also time for Dr Borg to consider his position.
Could anyone possibly imagine a minister treating this matter in such a manner in another EU country? Will the European community tolerate such behaviour? We deserve better.