An immigrant who tried to leave the island with a passport that belonged to another man was yesterday jailed for two months.

Abdul Khader, 24, admitted to trying to leave Malta for Sicily on Thursday using a Dutch passport belonging to Abdi Ahmed Dahir.

Officials of Virtu Ferries, which operates the catamaran to Sicily, realised he was not the person on the passport when he was checking in at Valletta.

After Mr Khader registered a guilty plea, legal aid lawyer Renzo Porsella Flores pointed out that according to an article he had read in The Times, Somalia has now become a lawless state and that deporting him was not an option.

Police Inspector Mario Haber said that Mr Khader did have humanitarian status and had applied for refugee status but it had been denied.

Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona jailed him for two months after taking into consideration the fact that he had admitted to the charge straightaway.

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