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21-Year-Old Xewkija Man Charged With Dragging And Throwing Somalian Man Into Gozo Sea Denied Bail

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A 21-year-old man from Xewkija, Gozo, has been denied bail and remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to dragging and throwing a Somalian man into the sea in front of a “cheering crowd”.

The incident was caught on camera and was subsequently shared on social media, with some people describing the shocking scene.

In the footage, Deelian Mifsud is believed to be seen approaching the Somalian man from behind as he is speaking to another man, before grabbing him and dragging him several metres across the Mgarr Harbour front before throwing him into the sea as people watched.

The incident happened on 18th July at 1am.

One person who was on the scene described what they saw that evening, saying the incident broke out among a group of “15 people”.

“At one point a ‘hero’ decided to show what a king he was in front of a crowd of 100 cheering people, moved a dust bin, moved a table and to the disgusting roar of the horde he punched the guy from Somalia and threw him in the sea. At this point in time he hit his face with a boat,” the person claimed.

“Not knowing if he could swim (could have drowned), he pulled himself out embarrassed and humiliated and yet again tried to ask why they treated him like a dog.”

In the footage, the man can be seen attempting to pull himself out of the water, before falling back in. Onlookers can be heard saying how disgusted they were by what they were seeing in front of them.

Mifsud pleaded not guilty to attempted grievous bodily harm, causing his alleged victim slight injuries, damaging the man’s Apple IPhone, breaching the public peace and also breaching the terms of a probation order delivered in October by the Criminal Court.

Mifsud’s lawyer, Jean Paul Grech, said that there was no racist element behind the charges against his client. However, Magistrate Simone Grech decided to refuse Mifsud’s request for bail and kept him in custody.

Lawyer Franco Debono appeared parte civile.

You can watch the footage by following this link.

What do you make of the court’s decision? 

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Johnathan is an award-winning Maltese journalist interested in social justice, politics, minority issues, music and food. Follow him at @supreofficialmt on Instagram, and send him news, food and music stories at [email protected]

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