A Libyan inmate was jailed for five years for setting a mattress alight at Corradino Correctional Facility after he was moved to a new division while his cell was searched for drugs.
Faiz Omar Elsallak, 45, was convicted of setting fire to cell 13 in Division 6 on March 4, 2012, and trying to torch cell 11 in Division 13, three days later. Magistrate Neville Camilleri also found him guilty of assaulting and threatening prison officers, causing damage and relapsing.
Correctional officers found a white substance in a container in Mr Elsallak’s cell and suspected it could be drugs.
He was moved to another cell, where he started the fire, as a thorough search was conducted. Later he was taken to Mount Carmel Hospital and returned to Division 13 in prison on March 6.
The following day, he was involved in an argument with two inmates, and prison staff intervened. After some time, officers noticed smoke close to Mr Elsallak’s cell and when they opened the door and went in with a fire hose, the accused assaulted them, grabbing the hose and the uniform of one of the officers, then biting another officer.
Mr Elsallak admitted to setting fire to the first cell, saying he was upset because the white substance found was not drugs but a substance for his dentures. A court expert confirmed it was not drugs.
Neither did he intend to set fire to the cell when moved to Division 13, he said, adding he was annoyed that officers were not opening the cell door at 5pm, as usual.
He decided to set fire to a paper and threw it out of the cell to attract their attention. He said he got angry when officers turned up with the hose and wet him since there was no fire in the cell. The judgment does not say how the inmate produced the fire.
Psychiatrist Joseph Spiteri said when the accused was moved he suffered from an “acute reaction to stress” and carried out self-harm by cutting himself with a blade. He said the accused suffered from drug addiction, personality issues and depression.
The magistrate recommended the prison authorities give Mr Elsallak support for his health problems.