The Ombudsman’s  investigation was launched in response to persistent media reports and concerns raised by Moviment Graffitti, which highlighted alleged human rights violations and non-compliance with prison regulations at.

“The prevailing attitude was that any means could be used to justify these ends, an attitude which undermines the concept of the Rule of Law and invariably leads to abuse and gross violations of human dignity,” the report reads.

Calls for resignation

Activist organisation Repubblika and Opposition Leader Bernard Grech consequently called for the resignation of Camilleri, with the latter saying the ministry had turned into a “Ministry of National Insecurity and Inhumane Treatment”.

Grech said that the Ombudsman report confirmed what the Nationalist Party (PN) has “been saying for a long time” – that the management of the prison under Dalli, “whom Byron Camilleri defended for years, was inhumane”.

Grech went on to say that this is just one of “several other scandals” Camilleri has been involved in in recent months. He referenced the ID card scandal wherein 18,000 false Maltese identity cards were issued to third-country nationals; the extension of Angelo Gafà’s contract as Police Commissioner, which left the Force without the necessary resources to function properly; and corruption involving LESA citations.

In addition to calling for the minister’s resignation, Repubblika demanded that Dalli be dismissed from all public functions and that the police should immediately investigate what criminal actions were committed by government officials who, through deliberate misconduct, abused prisoners under their responsibility.

“If state employees abused their power to cause suffering—or even deaths—among detainees, then it is the duty of the state to take legal action against them. Otherwise, the injustice will be doubled,” Repubblika wrote.

“The first to suffer from the collapse of the rule of law are always the most vulnerable. Not all of us are prisoners. But if we fail to recognise how systematic abuse of dignity and fundamental rights is being inflicted on those whose lives are entrusted to the state, then the collapse of the rule of law will inevitably lead to the abuse and suppression of anyone who becomes inconvenient to the government.”

PL’s response

In response, the Labour Party issued a statement criticising Grech for repeating the demands of the “extreme faction of the PN” by calling for Camilleri’s resignation.

“If it were up to him and his extreme faction, everyone would resign and the de facto leader would be Karol Aquilina. Fortunately, that decision rests with the people and not with him.”

It went on to claim that thanks to the “democratic choice” that gave Camilleri his role as minister, Malta’s disciplinary forces have been provided with the “best working conditions in history” and the “strongest resources”.

It pointed out that Malta ranks among the ten safest nations in the world and has addressed challenges like irregular migration and “initiated a major wave of prison reforms”.

The PL concluded by saying that Grech “chose to repeat the lie about the 18,000 ID cards” and warned that he will have to answer for this claim.

Public reaction to the report

In response to the report, NGO Moviment Graffitti – which triggered this investigation, listed some of the more horrifying actions that prisoners were subject to under Dalli’s management.

This included:

• A prisoner not having access to toilet paper for five days.
• A detainee being punished with over a month of solitary confinement in a room with inadequate bedding, clothes, and water.
• The withholding of personal letters sent to prisoners.
• Inmates being punished for actions over which they had no control, such as a relative appearing on television.

“These actions are not only sick. They are illegal. They happened as Minister Byron Camilleri stuck his neck out to defend Col. Alex Dalli.”

The NGO concluded by asking Camilleri whether he still defends these actions.