A prison run like a Gulag and the director who ran it

The unearthing of misdemeanours from the past is one of the biggest headaches of the Abela administration. It will not be easy to address every single issue, which is why when a problem is allowed to fester it never goes away but goes on to form gangrene

Alex Dalli (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)
Alex Dalli (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)

A Maltese prison led by a primeval administrator with archaic and cruel methods has no place in our society.

This is what happened when former prisons director Alex Dalli, and to some extent his deputy Randolph Spiteri, were appointed to run the Corradino Correctional Facility. Dalli was an army colonel with experience as a helicopter pilot and Spiteri a former Nationalist Party activist working with David Casa who turned Labourite.

The Ombudsman has now confirmed in a 30-page report what MaltaToday and sister newspaper Illum, had been saying all along about Dalli’s cruel methods.

The Ombudsman said specifically that in a State governed by the rule of law, the end can never justify means. In this case the means included the violation of human dignity.

Under the Dalli-Spiteri tandem various inmates had committed suicide.

The Ombudsman said that “while correlation is not causation”, he was morally convinced that particularly vulnerable inmates must have been affected by the treatment accorded to them upon admission to the CCF and by their treatment, thereafter. 

The report was very telling when it said: “ … of course, entirely without prejudice to any pending or future criminal proceedings. From the evidence heard and received by the Commission in the period under examination there was systemic maladministration at the Corradino Correctional Facility.”

The report makes distressing reading as it details, testimonies, conditions of solitary confinement, the gun-toting stunts by Alex Dalli, and confirms evidence of blatant racism toward non-Maltese prisoners, including an incident where a group of immigrants were forced to kneel and intimidated by police dogs.  Apart from various other examples of unbelievable behaviour.

The worst part is that Malta in 2019 had the highest percentage of deaths inside any world penal institution, both in terms of general mortality rate and in terms of suicide rate.

After being removed, Alex Dalli was subsequently tasked by the government to handle migration control efforts as part of a joint Malta-Libya centre, with an annual wage of €103,000.  He was appointed by this administration even though everyone knew that he was not fit for purpose. If the government does not want to take responsibility for any of its actions, then so be it but Dalli should be removed from his current post.

Furthermore, the Police Commissioner has to investigate Dalli and his associates.

The Ombudsman argued that apportioning political responsibility for the facts that emerged is not within his remit. He says it is up to others to decide on this.

In the absence of the Prime Minister taking the decision, leaving it to others means the Opposition and civil society.

After the report was published on Friday it was the usual vocal groups - Repubblika, ADPD and Momentum - that called for Byron Camilleri’s head. It was to be expected. Unfortunately, the Nationalist Party was characteristically late in joining the bandwagon. A quick Facebook post by Bernard Grech added to the calls for Byron Camilleri’s resignation.

I cannot understand why Dalli was not removed when the first allegations of abuse were surfacing. In his assessment of the state of the CCF, the Ombudsman wrote: “Particularly in the appointment of the Director of Prisons (who also occupies the post of CEO of the CSA) and of the more senior officials of the prisons, a proper and thorough psychological evaluation should be undertaken.”

If it were to be carried out, I’m sure both Dalli and Spiteri would have failed the psychological test, making them ineligible for the post.
The unearthing of misdemeanours from the past is one of the biggest headaches of the Abela administration. It will not be easy to address every single issue, which is why when a problem is allowed to fester it never goes away but goes on to form gangrene.   

***

MaltaToday’s Gozo survey reveals a trend which is understandable. It does send out another subtle message which is well known in Nationalist circles - whereas Gozo is seeing a resurgence of the Nationalist Party, the trust rating for Bernard Grech continues to lag behind that of Robert Abela.

You do not need to be a rocket scientist to understand the reason for this. And yet the PN continues to go around in circles when it comes to discussing leadership. They all know that Grech does not have the gravitas to take them over the hill.

On the other hand, the Labour Party is still facing the issue of Labourites refusing to vote with a small number migrating to other parties. The PL also has a problem, and it is more difficult to address. The fact that in Gozo, we have three Labour ministers, Anton Refalo, Jo Etienne Abela and Clint Camilleri, does not quite help.