Inquiry after Eritrean dies at Safi Barracks

The government's detention policy has come under fire once again after an Eritrean man, detained at the Safi Barracks, died early on Sunday morning.

The authorities said they had done their utmost to help Zeray Okbaledet, 43, but they added, he had refused all the medical assistance offered.

Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said yesterday a magisterial inquiry had been ordered to establish the cause of death.

Dr Borg said when asked to comment: "It is not extraordinary that one, out of the 3,000 irregular immigrants who came to Malta in the past two years, has died from natural causes".

The incident has provoked the wrath of Elizabeth Chyrum, a human rights activist from Eritrea based in London, and Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Harry Vassallo.

In a letter to Refugees' Commissioner Charles Buttigieg, copied to The Times among others, Ms Chyrum said that ironically Mr Okbaledet was one of those who "was forcefully deported back to Eritrea from Malta in 2002 and, like the others, was tortured and maltreated by the Eritrean authorities".

"After he escaped from prison, he tried to reach a safe country, yet he got caught and ended up in Malta again," she added.

Ms Chyrum said she had been in constant touch with Mr Okbaledet, who had been detained at the Safi Barracks for the past five months and he had been unhappy about the detention situation and very ill, yet resilient and hopeful.

"In my opinion, the living conditions in the detention centres have contributed a lot to his untimely death. He has gone through a lot in the short time he has lived on this earth. He thought he could lead a normal and safe life one day, if one of the countries gave him, at least, humanitarian protection. What is the point now? He is gone," she said.

Ms Chyrum lashed out at Mr Buttigieg and the government saying that despite providing both with information on the deteriorating human rights conditions in Eritrea, Eritrean asylum seekers were still "languishing" in different Maltese detention centres, where conditions were "substandard".

If the situation in the camps did not improve, many more, who had accidentally disembarked on the shores of Malta, would die, she said.

She went on to say that in Eritrea, arbitrary arrests, disappearances and coercion had become common practice and many were fleeing to safety. Citizens whose views were different to the government's were living in constant fear of being targeted - many before them had been victims of the state's terror campaign.

Ms Chyrum pleaded with the Maltese government to exercise thoughtfulness towards the remaining detainees.

"I am eagerly awaiting your decision to release the rest of the asylum seekers who I believe are very anxious, distressed and perplexed by their detention condition and also by this shocking news," she said.

She concluded by asking that the body of Mr Okbaledet be sent to Eritrea to rest in peace and an inquest be carried out in order to establish the cause of death.

Mr Buttigieg said last night he had referred Ms Chyrum's letter to the relevant authorities.

The man's death was also the main subject of Dr Vassallo's speech at yesterday's national two-day conference on irregular immigration at the InterContinental Hotel, in St Julians.

"This Eritrean, who had been deported in 2002 was unlucky enough to come back to Malta after escaping his war-torn country a second time," he said.

"The fact that he was suffering from asthma did not stop him from travelling for miles to escape. Yet, he died last weekend cooped up inside the Safi Barracks," Dr Vassallo added.

When questioned about this incident, Armed Forces of Malta commander Brigadier Carmel Vassallo said that when medical assistance was required it was only the experts who intervened and this was exactly what the AFM did.

"On Thursday we called an ambulance but the man refused assistance from the paramedics. On Friday evening, one of his friends informed us that he was in a bad state and we called a doctor who urged us to take him to hospital at once, which we did," he said.

Asked whether the conditions at the Safi Barracks could have contributed to his illness Brig. Vassallo said: "What can I say? The government's policy is one of detention and we have to abide by it."

He did add that it would be worth noting that the army was building a new area specifically for immigrants at Safi Barracks. A new camp had also been erected on Wednesday "but until today they were refusing to shift from the one which is in shreds".

Police Commissioner John Rizzo corroborated this and said that Dr Vassallo must have got the wrong end of the stick.

"On Thursday, an ambulance was called to assist him but he refused help - the army abided by his decision. On Friday at 6 p.m., the doctor recommended that he be taken to hospital at once. I was informed he died on Sunday at 1 a.m.," he said.

The police immediately informed Magistrate Silvio Meli who ordered an autopsy to establish the exact cause of death.

The Jesuit Refugee Service (Malta) also referred to this incident in a statement circulated during the conference, where it pointed out that the dire need of proper procedures and structures was demonstrated by this unfortunate death.

"He had suffered from asthma which was made worse by the conditions in which he lived. He was taken to hospital for treatment on several occasions and at times had to stay there for a number of days," it said.

The JRS said a request had been made to bring the deceased's interview on his status forward and this had been accepted. However, he died while waiting release from detention.