Six years on, calls grow louder to free the El Hiblu 3

Friday (today) marks the sixth anniversary of the arrival of the El Hiblu 3 in Malta, a case that saw three young men charged with controversial terrorism charges and facing a life in prison.

Abdalla, Amara, and Kader arrived in Malta on March 28, 2019, as teenagers, only to be met with incarceration and terrorism charges – allegations they have consistently denied.

The three young men, originally from Guinea and the Ivory Coast, had been detained and arrested aboard the El Hiblu oil tanker in 2019. The ship had been in the process of returning migrants to a Libyan port, when the rescued passengers allegedly hijacked the vessel, ordering that it be turned around and directed towards Malta.

It is alleged that the El Hiblu 3 led the hijacking, with Kromah, Kader and Bari all being charged with terrorism-related offences. The trio however deny the charges, claiming that they were merely serving as translators for members of the group since they were capable of communicating with the captain in English.

Upon reaching Malta they were imprisoned in an adult correctional facility and accused of hijacking the vessel.

Now, six years later, legal proceedings remain in limbo. Advocates, legal experts, and human rights organisations continue to call for the charges to be dropped, arguing that their prosecution is a gross miscarriage of justice.

“For six years now, we have witnessed both the courage of the three and the cruel injustice they are forced to experience in Malta,” said Maurice Stierl of the Coalition for the El Hiblu 3. “When we started to call for their freedom in 2019, we could not have imagined that we would still be here, six years on, repeating the same demands, again and again, like a broken record: End this injustice, drop the charges, free the El Hiblu 3!”

Daniela DeBono, another coalition member, echoed the demand for an end to their ordeal. “Justice has proven elusive for the Three. They have been punished before even standing for trial: six years in limbo for teenagers has marked them for life. The charges should be dropped, immediately!”

Joanna Jebaili of KOPIN Malta spoke out on the human toll of their situation. “The treatment of minors, who have now become young adults, is nothing short of the exemplification of ‘justice delayed is justice denied’. If you were to consider seeing these young people as your own children, you may find yourself fighting for the El Hiblu 3 too.”

“The El Hiblu 3 are not criminals, and yet they have been thrown in limbo for six years,” said William Grech of KOPIN Malta. “We are insisting that charges be dropped because they have withstood a politically-motivated travesty of justice. Let us not forget that these three young men saved lives and prevented an illegal pushback to Libya. They are human rights defenders and should not be punished.”

Last January,  the El Hiblu 3 lost their appeal to have the criminal proceedings against them dropped. They argued that the Maltese courts retained no jurisdiction because the alleged crimes did not involve Maltese individuals and took place outside Maltese territorial waters. The claim was dismissed in May 2024, but in January the courts upheld the original dismissal, stating that the claim can only be assessed by a jury during the trial.