We didn't... no wait, we did

The traditionally coy police corps went into media overdrive towards the end of the week, only to issue diametrically opposed statements on whether they have suspended police officers in connection with serious abuse allegations.

Last week The Sunday Times carried a story saying that only one police officer had been suspended in connection with the alleged beating of two handcuffed migrants in Paceville last June.

However, last Friday, the police spontaneously sent a statement, "correcting" the story and saying that they had not actually suspended anyone.

"Contrary to what Mark Micallef has stated in his article... no police officers have been suspended as yet in connection with the mentioned case."

A day later, they sent another statement saying: "Please note that a police officer has been suspended in connection with the alleged incidents at Paceville".

When asked when the officer was suspended, however, the police would not comment, saying that it would be "unethical" given that the case is still being assessed. Nor would the police say whether the officer would be arraigned or when.

Witnesses had told The Times that as many as five officers were involved in the beating of one of the migrants, Sudanese Suleiman Abubaker, and another three in that of the other, a 26-year-old Ivorian, Kaba Konate.

However, police sources said that only one officer was consistently identified by the main witnesses.

Yet, throughout the past months when the investigations were still ongoing, no police officers were suspended and two officers were actually assigned to Paceville.

The incidents, which happened a few hours apart, took place in Paceville's main square in the early hours of June 28, after police had arrested the migrants.

Both migrants received suspended sentences after pleading guilty to assaulting the police in speedy court proceedings.

But several witnesses, one of whom was arrested on the night of the incident after questioning the police's methods, said that they had not seen the immigrants behave violently. On the contrary, police had beaten them for no reason, they said.

mmicallef@timesofmalta.com