Woman misled police in hope of being granted asylum

Eebis Getu initially claimed to have been imprisoned by a Kuwaiti family, but later admitted that she had embellished parts of it so she would be considered for asylum.

 An Ethiopian woman who led police on a wild goose chase for a fictitious Kuwaiti family, claiming they had detained and mistreated her, in a bid to be granted asylum, has been handed a suspended prison sentence.

Eebis Getu had arrived on a flight to Malta on 28th July, but had gone to the police the next day, claiming to have arrived five days before, together with a Kuwaiti family. The Kuwaitis would mistreat her and lock her up in their apartment, said the woman, adding that she had managed to escape from the apartment “because she feared for her life.”

However Getu later recanted her story, explaining that she had embellished her story on the advice of a Somali man she had met, in order to be granted asylum.

Although it was true that she had lived in Kuwait and had been mistreated by the family she worked for, none of the Kuwaitis had ever come to Malta, the woman admitted. 

In a sentence he delivered earlier today, Magistrate Joe Mifsud said the woman had done what she did because she wanted to be allowed to stay in Malta with her husband. The court pointed out that Getu should have applied for asylum upon her arrival and that she had persisted in pushing her false story despite several offers of assistance from the police.

Getu was handed a one year prison sentence, suspended for two years.