Malta should do the right thing and drop the charges against the El Hiblu 3

Koni Tiemoko Abdoul Khader, Amara Kromah and Abdalla Bari were 15, 16, and 19 years old when they were charged in Malta with hijacking the El Hiblu 1, an oil tanker that had rescued them and 108 other people fleeing Libya from the sea. 

Four years after the three young men were first charged in a Maltese court, the Attorney General last week decided to formally indict them for ‘acts of terrorism’. 

This is a gross injustice against these three men who risk serving life sentences for acting as mediators between the ship’s crew and the migrants who had just been rescued.  

Amnesty International, the international human rights group, called it “a travesty of justice” and in no uncertain terms, Elisa De Pieri, the group’s regional researcher, said “the Attorney General has taken more than four-and-a-half years to make the worst possible decision.” 

The decision to push ahead with the very serious charge of terrorism flies in the face of compelling testimony by several witnesses throughout the compilation of evidence that showed how the three men – who were the only ones who could speak English – acted as interlocutors between the rescued migrants and the ship’s crew during the ordeal. 

The only contrary evidence were the words of the ship’s captain during radio communication with the Maltese authorities in which he said his vessel had been hijacked by pirates. Prosecutors have insisted the three men coerced the ship’s captain to sail the ship towards Malta instead of returning the migrants to Libya. 

This evidence was however contradicted by several witnesses who said no violence or threats were made. 

The length of time it took the AG to issue the bill of indictment – four long years and more – is also evidence that the matter was not as clear cut as prosecutors made it out to be initially. And yet, the AG has persisted with what appears to be nothing more than a trumped-up charge with potentially catastrophic consequences for the young men. 

The AG could have dropped the charges altogether and yet here we are with the Maltese State coming down in full force on three young men whose biggest crime was knowing how to communicate in English. 

There is still time to correct the injustice. It is not the first time the State has decided to drop charges or opt for less onerous charges. 

It is ironic and tragic that in a separate and unrelated case the AG dropped the charge of attempted homicide against one of the perpetrators in the HSBC heist case in a failed attempt to extract damning testimony against a co-conspirator. In that instance, the evidence was strong enough to keep that charge intact but the AG tried to bargain for a lower charge in exchange for testimony. 

There is also the tool of nolle prosequi, which has been used recently by the AG to drop cases against several Pilatus Bank officials even though an inquiring magistrate said there was enough evidence for them to be charged with money laundering. 

The reason we bring up these cases is to illustrate that the AG has the power and discretion to decide what charges should be filed against an individual or individuals suspected of a crime.

It should not be hard for any right-thinking individual who has followed the compilation of evidence over the past four years to reach the conclusion that the El-Hiblu 3, as they are referred to in the international campaign to free them, are simply being made to pay the price so that the Maltese State can appear tough with migrants. 

It is astonishing in a twisted way that a government that has championed civil rights so assiduously over the past 10 years is perpetrating such an injustice against three young men. This is nothing short of a bullying tactic against the most vulnerable of individuals. 

This leader joins in the appeal being made by human rights defenders, not least Amnesty International, to the Maltese State to drop these charges and allow these three young men the chance to continue with their lives. 

Malta must do the right thing and free the El Hiblu 3.