The Detention Service officer who reportedly described detained African migrants as “monkeys at a fence” has been suspended, The Times has learnt.
The language used by Dominic Seguna at the witness stand last Tuesday was “totally unacceptable”, according to the Home Affairs Ministry, which falls under the Prime Minister’s office.
A disciplinary board is being set up in accordance with Public Service Commission disciplinary regulations to investigate Mr Seguna’s choice of words, the ministry said.
Mr Seguna reportedly used the words when testifying in the case of two soldiers accused of killing escaped Malian migrant Mamadou Kamara.
Mr Seguna was reported saying that immigrants at Safi detention centre on the day Mr Kamara died were like “monkeys at the fence” ready to attack Mr Kamara.
He also said Mr Kamara would have ended up like a “black omelette” had he remained there overnight, according to media reports.
Sources close to the investigation said the official court transcript did not show Mr Seguna said “black” omelette “but this does not reduce the gravity of his other offensive comments”.
In the same hearing on Tuesday, the man in charge of Safi detention centre, Lieutenant Nicholas Camilleri, was quoted saying he would have acted the same way as the two accused if faced with a violent immigrant.
The ministry said Lt Camilleri categorically denied he said what the media reported.
“He stated that he demonstrated to the magistrate how he would apprehend an aggressive immigrant with the minimum force necessary and, in the circumstances, he would have done the same,” the ministry said.
Action is being taken to verify this statement using the court transcript.
Since 2006, all Detention Service personnel attended a yearly training programme normally organised in cooperation with an NGO (the Jesuit Refugee Service) or an international organisation (the Red Cross, UNHCR).
Part of the training always focuses on cultural issues and respect for people of different cultures and officers were all screened prior to their recruitment, according to the ministry.
Responding to defence lawyer Franco Debono’s claim in court that Detention Service personnel were only equipped with handcuffs and torches and that there was an extremely poor personnel-to-detainee ratio, the ministry said staff on duty in European detention centres were never armed.
“In the event of a disturbance, staff may call the Armed Forces of Malta and the police for assistance. Furthermore, in each detention centre guardroom there are at least six sets of handcuffs and a number of torches and four cans of pepper spray.”
The ministry also denied Dr Debono’s claim that Detention Service staff are sometimes forced to work 24-hour shifts.