Claims by four illegal immigrants that their human rights were being violated were today dismissed by the First Hall of the Civil Court.

The migrants, held in the Hal Safi Detention Centre, landed illegally in Malta in summer last year after they left Libya, to live in a country which effectively protected their human rights.

The court concluded that the period of time they spent in detention was reasonable and that the conditions within the centre were not inhuman and degrading.

On their arrival in Malta they requested refugee status and their claims were being processed.

However, the men claimed that the length of time taken to establish their status was in violation of their human right to freedom from deprivation of liberty.

They claimed that they were being held in inhuman and degrading conditions within the Detention Centre while their applications were being processed.

Mr Justice Tonio Mallia pointed out that Maltese law provided for detention of immigrants until such time as their refugee status was established.

This was acceptable in terms of the European Convention of Human Rights. Case law of this court had established that detention of over two years in such cases was contrary to the migrant’s human rights.

However, Maltese law provided for detention for periods of 12 or 18 months.

If a migrant applied for refugee status he had to be released from detention within 12 months, if he did not apply for such status, within 18 months.

These time limits were reasonable the court said.

The court ruled that treatment was deemed to be inhuman if it was intended to cause intense physical and mental suffering and degrading if it led a victim to act against his or her will and if its object was to humiliate and debase the person concerned.

The migrants also complained about the quality of the food at the centre saying the potatoes were too white and they were not given enough sauce with their meals.

This, however, did not lead the court to conclude that the migrants were being treated in an inhuman or degrading manner.

Mr Justice Mallia declared that it did not result that the conditions in the Detention Centre were aimed at humiliating and debasing the inmates but at maintaining the stability of the country and to prohibit a deluge of irregular migrants across the country.