Immigrants were 'desperate' to escape

Two Ethiopian immigrants have been conditionally discharged for a year after they admitted to trying to leave Malta illegally. Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani handed down judgment after hearing the defence and the prosecution agree that the two men had...

Two Ethiopian immigrants have been conditionally discharged for a year after they admitted to trying to leave Malta illegally.

Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani handed down judgment after hearing the defence and the prosecution agree that the two men had acted out of desperation.

Haile Mariam Tasew, 56, and Wubshet Ararsa Demesa, 27, admitted to trying to leave Malta illegally, and travel to Italy, on Thursday.

Police Inspector Edel Mary Camilleri, prosecuting, explained how the two men had been apprehended in the garage of a Maltese man and, following their arrest, they fully cooperated with the police.

She added that the two men had spent all the money they earned legally in Malta in their desperate attempt to reach Italy.

Lawyer Beppe Fenech Adami asked the court to show clemency towards the men who had acted out of desperation.

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