Safi incidents raised in European Parliament

Green MEP Helene Flautre has raised the issue of the incidents at Safi Barracks in the European Parliament and with the European Commission on the initiative of Arnold Cassola, secretary general of the European Green Party.

In a parliamentary question, Ms Flautre, who is president of the human rights sub-committee of the European Parliament, asked the EU Commission if it was aware of the incidents.

She said detained immigrants were brutally assaulted by Malta Armed Forces personnel while holding a peaceful protest. The unarmed immigrants were sitting down in the detention centre grounds. A number of them sustained fractures and head injuries, she said.

Ms Flautre said that during the mayhem, witnessed by journalists, a restricted number of Maltese military personnel passed racist comments and incited colleagues to violence against the immigrants.

She also asked the Commission: "Has there been any reaction by the European Commission regarding these incidents? What are the initiatives the European Commission intends taking to ensure that basic human rights enshrined in EU treaties are respected in Maltese detention centres?"