Three detention officers charged with involuntary homicide of migrant

Roderick Azzopardi, 29 of Zabbar, Aldo Simiana, 41 of Birkirkara and Carmela Camilleri, 55 of Zurrieq, were today charged with the involuntary murder of Nigerian migrant Ifeanyi Nwokaye in 2011.

Azzopardi is a former deputy commandant of the Detention Service while Simiana and Camilleri are former officers at the same unit.

On 16 April 2011 six migrants escaped from the Hal Far Detention centre but two, were apprehended soon after. One of these was 29-year-old Ifeanyi Nwokaye. Other migrants alleged with police officers that deputy commandant Roderick Azzopardi had beaten the migrant during his arrest.

While standing orders state that following an escape a migrant should be seen by a doctor, Nwokaye was not medically checked.

Officers Simiana and Camilleri were accused of failing to ensure that the standing order was adhered to, prior to putting Nwokaye in isolation, and still in handcuffs. The migrant died from cardiac arrest an hour after being left on the floor of the isolation cell.

The defence counsel demanded that the prosecuting inspector confirms that Nwokaye did not die due to any violent act or injuries. From the witness stand, Inspector Keith Arnaud confirmed that the cause of death was cardiac arrest. Subsequently the defence argued that the charge of involuntary homicide could not stand.

Police Inspector Keith Arnaud is prosecuting while lawyers Steve Tonna Lowell and Veronique Dalli are appearing for the accused.