WATCH: Malta’s Former President Joins Activists To Protest Separation Of Turkish Mothers And Their Children
President Emeritus Marie Louise Coleiro Preca joined activist groups in a protest outside Malta’s law courts over the recent decision to send two young Turkish mothers to prison over forged documents, ripping them apart from their toddlers in the process.
Moviment Graffitti, the Malta Association of Social Workers, aditus Foundation, and Coleiro Preca gathered outside the courts demanding a change to the sentencing, noting that sentences handed out to foreign nationals are far more severe than their Maltese counterparts.
“This is a clear example of institutionalised racism,” activists said.
NGOs are calling for a review of the judicial system after two boys were forced into state care after their mothers were jailed for six months for travelling with forged documents. They are also calling for an immediate change to the sentence handed down to them.
The NGOs also noted that the decision to separate the mothers from their children is against human rights.
Rabia Yavuz and Muzekka Deneri were apprehended at Malta Airport after presenting forged documents on their way from Greece to Belgium via Malta.
They were charged in court while the children, aged two and four, both of whom neither speak Maltese or English, were dragged off into state care.
Do you think the mothers should be in jail?
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