The government has denied allegations, made in a Council of Europe report, of deliberate physical ill-treatment of irregular immigrants by the police and the armed forces.

The Home Affairs Ministry yesterday released a report drawn up by the COE's European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) together with the government's response to it. The report dates back to January 2004 when a COE delegation visited Malta. The CPT said it had received reports of alleged ill-treatment including kicks, punches and blows with batons. Apparently such acts occurred in the aftermath of an attempted escape or in order to obtain information about the exact nationality of foreign nationals, thereby facilitating their deportation, the report said.

In its reply, the government said physical force had to be used in very rare and exceptional cases and this only to overwhelm individuals who had assaulted members of the security forces and so needed to be restrained.

"Indeed, restraint was resorted to even in those instances when the immigrants threw urine or other types of dirty liquids at the police or spat and passed censorious remarks at the police officer on duty," the government added.

Detainees were sometimes addressed by their tag number mostly due to practical reasons and definitely not to humiliate them in any way, as claimed in the CPT report, the government said.

The report deals in large part with the policy of detention, which it condemns.

It says that the deprivation of liberty should only be resorted to after a careful and individual examination of each case. Furthermore, its lawfulness should be open to challenge before a judicial authority.

The CPT suggested that alternative non-custodial measures be developed and used wherever possible. Such measures may include various restrictions on movement but should fall short of detention. Besides, such measures are usually less costly than detention.

The committee noted that the detention centres visited displayed a prison-like environment, a climate of tension, a quasi-total absence of activities, a lack of regular exercise, inadequate medical care and lack of information to foreign nationals about their situation.

But the government held firm to its stand that Malta simply cannot afford to let illegal immigrants free just because they have sought asylum.

Malta was the smallest and most densely populated country in Europe and detention was necessary to determine the identity of such migrants, among others. Releasing all irregular immigrants was a recipe for social chaos, the government said.

In a final report sent to the CPT last week, the government said that over the last year it had upgraded the Safi detention centre and a former trade school in Marsa has recently been turned into an open centre accommodating 250 persons. However, should the influx of immigrants persist, the authorities might still need to use tents.

The government informed the CPT that the period of detention has been reduced to one year in line with the EU directive on minimum standards of reception conditions.

"There is always room for improvement... However, in the most objective manner, it is considered that Malta has come a long way in the treatment of asylum seekers," the government said.