The government was considering all its legal options following the European Court of Human Right judgments given today, in the cases of Aden Ahmed and Suso Musa against Malta.

The Court found the government in breach of human rights and ordered it to pay Ms Ahmed a total of €33,000 and Mr Musa a total of €27,000.

In a statement, the Home Affairs Ministry said the situation it inherited in the sector was a difficult one.

It said it was sad to note that the European Court decided against Malta because of the situation under the previous government.

While the government was to continue insisting that the country could not keep up with the massive influx of irregular migrants, it would still be working to improve detention conditions so that mistakes of the past would not to be repeated, it said.

The ministry said this, however, could not be done if the government was left on its own so it was making its voice heard with European politicians and institutions.

The government wanted a national political consensus on the matter, particularly from the people who had been in the government when the situations which led to the European Court’s condemnation today took place.