Drop the charges against the El Hiblu 3 | Maria Pisani

Dr Maria Pisani, Youth & Community Studies

Three years have passed since Abdalla, Amara and Kader fled the shores of war-torn Libya in the hope of reaching security, a safe destination, and an opportunity to pursue the kind of dreams any  teenager hopes for.

Their aspirations suggest nothing out of the ordinary: to pursue an education, play football, find peace of mind, make their families proud. Three years have passed since these three African teenagers, aged 15, 16, and 19 at the time, were asked to mediate and translate between the captain of the El Hiblu vessel, and 100 migrants, scared out of their wits at the prospect of being returned to Libya.

Three teenagers, two of them boys, the other barely on the cusp of adulthood, were able to understand the panic of the other passengers and the need to convey their shared fears to the Captain. They had no knowledge of the 1951 Geneva Convention, and yet, in spite of their young ages, they had been exposed to enough terror in their lives to understand that a return to Libya and the horrors that awaited them would be cruel, wrong, and also criminal.

As the captain steered his vessel back towards Malta, the political fallout was already becoming clear.

The Italian media had already reported that the vessel had been ‘hijacked’ and Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini branded the incident as “the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants”. A special unit of the Maltese military stormed the vessel.

Met by a scene of calm, there was no need to take control, but simply to escort the captain as he continued to steer his ship towards Malta.

The Armed Forces of Malta released footage of the military exercise that was subsequently broadcast by national and international media, the display of sovereign muscle framed and supported the political narrative of border politics within the Mediterranean and broader EU context.

Upon arrival in Malta, the three boys were handcuffed, imprisoned and charged with terrorism. They face a lifetime in prison.

The ElHiblu3 Freedom Commission is a newly formed and independent alliance of human rights advocates demanding freedom of the ElHiblu3.

Almost three years since the vessel El Hiblu 1 arrived in Malta, the prosecution hasn’t formulated an official charge.  The charges brought against the three young men cannot be justified, their treatment to date beyond reprehensible.

The Commission is calling on Malta to immediately dismiss the proceedings against the three youth.