Migrants admit to Wednesday's riot at Hal Far

A total of 18 migrants have been arraigned for causing thousands of euros worth of damage

20 November 2020, 4:45pm
by Matthew Agius

1 min read

18 migrants were brought to the law courts in police bus for their arraignment earlier today

TWEET SHARE

18 migrants have been arraigned in court on charges of participating in a riot at Hal Far two days ago.

The riot caused thousands of euros worth of damage, the court was told.

The migrants, from Mali, Ivory Coast, Somalia, Sudan, Guinea and Gambia all pleaded guilty to the charges.

In his submissions on punishment, legal aid defence counsel, lawyer Martin Fenech differentiated between a riot and a protest, but the court pointed out that protests do not damage property. Fenech said that the men had cooperated with the prosecution and had pleaded guilty at an early stage.

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech meted out suspended sentences of durations depending on the amount of damage the men had caused. These ranged from 1 year of imprisonment, suspended for 3 years, up to 22 months imprisonment, suspended for 4 years.

The accused men were assisted by lawyer Martin Fenech as legal aid. Superintendent Josric Mifsud and Inspector Doriette Cuschieri prosecuted.

Matthew Agius is Senior Reporter on Law and Court Affairs at MaltaToday. He is also a Leg...