Chief Justice orders migrant's re-arrest

Asylum seeker Karim Barboush yesterday collected his belongings at the Hal Far open centre and moved back into the nearby detention centre after a judge revoked a Magistrates' Court ruling, releaseing him from detention, and ordered his re-arrest.

Three days after Barboush was released from detention, Chief Justice Vincent DeGaetano, presiding over the Criminal Court, upheld the application filed by Attorney General Silvio Camilleri contesting Barboush's release.

The judge explained that the Magistrates' Court had gone beyond its jurisdiction as prescribed in article 409A (3) of the Criminal Code which states that if the court finds that the continued detention of an applicant is not founded on any law it shall allow the application, otherwise the court shall refuse it.

It did not fall within the competence of the Magistrates' Court, or the Criminal Court, to determine whether there were other circumstances that rendered the detention illegal.

For that to take place, there existed other procedures before different courts that were legally equipped to look into such matters.

In this case, the Chief Justice said, Barboush's detention was founded on article 14 (2) of the Immigration Act which lays down that once a removal order was issued, as had been against Barboush, such person shall be detained in custody until he is removed from Malta.

The fact that Barboush was an asylum seeker did not mean he had to be released from detention as explained in the law.

The judge concluded by saying that the court is not devoid of some "sense of humanity and equality between men" - an expression used by the first court in its decision - but each court is to proceed according to law... and therefore must not take on powers it did not have.

On October 25 Magistrate Anthony Vella had ruled for the release of Barboush but, following an appeal filed by the Attorney General the day after, the Criminal Court revoked the ruling on procedural grounds and ordered that the case be heard again.

Consequently, after having heard submissions made by both parties, Magistrate Vella ordered Barboush's release and that same day he left the Hal Far detention centre and moved into the neighbouring open centre.

The AG filed a second application contesting Barboush's release and, in yesterday's judgement, the Criminal Court ordered his re-arrest.

Dr Cedric Mifsud, Dr Katrine Camilleri, Dr Andrew Galea Debono and Dr Michael Camilleri appeared for Barboush.