Allegations of thefts of inmates' belongings

A case involving a Nigerian inmate who had filed a judicial protest last April, claiming to have been singled out for mistreatment after he complained about prison food, has highlighted allegations of widespread theft of foreign inmates’ belongings from prison.

Joseph Feilazoo, who is serving a 12-year sentence for drug trafficking, filed his protest in April, when he claimed that the morning after he had complained about the food, he was abruptly woken up by prison guards at 6:30am.

He said he was taken to another room, cavity-searched and humiliated, being given only his underwear – because a doctor had informed him that he was a suicide risk and had been heard saying he wanted to kill himself (which Feilazoo strongly denied) – and a blanket which “stank of urine,” before being transferred to a cold room.

The protest filed by Feilazoo’s lawyers, Alfred Grech and Larry Formosa, draws the attention of the courts to the fact that Feilazoo is still being repeatedly subjected to strip searches, all of which were pointless, as he was not allowed out of prison and neither did he have contact with persons from outside prison. No prohibited items have been discovered as a result of these searches, they claim.

In his initial judicial protest, the Nigerian had alleged that jewellery and other valuables which had been in his possession when he was jailed were taken from him without a receipt being issued. The items have since gone missing. A second protest adds a laptop and two electric fans, confiscated from his cell, to the items taken from him without good reason.

The office of the Attorney General has denied the claims, describing them as unfounded in fact and at law. The reply, signed by lawyer Abigail Caruana, reminded Feilazoo that upon his admission to Corradino Correctional Facility, a list of his belongings had been drawn up in his presence.

Feilazoo’s legal team has explained to this newspaper that the system works in such a way that a receipt is only given with regard to items stored in the office of a certain Major Vincent Vassallo. Items stored in the lockers are not accounted for.

During hearings, it emerged that Major Vassallo has since been suspended. It is not known whether this suspension is in any way connected to the theft of foreign inmates’ belongings, but sources close to the case claim that the practice is widespread.

The inmate is alleging that upon his arrival in prison, the officials removed the jewellery from his hand luggage, telling him that they could not be stored with the rest of his belongings. He claims that he was then taken to Maj. Vassallo’s office where he was made to remove the jewellery, being given a receipt for the items. 

However, some years later, he requested some items from the luggage, but when he was taken to the lockers, he realised that the bag’s seal had been broken and some items were missing. It was at this point that he found out that only the jewellery which had been in Maj. Vassallo’s custody was still accounted for, the other items having disappeared.

Feilazoo’s lawyer claims that no internal report had been made and, alarmingly, no police report had been filed. He said that the director of prisons at the time, Abraham Zammit, had led Feilazoo to believe that he was investigating the matter and held him off with this tactic for a number of months, before stepping down.

During his testimony, it emerged that the director had only called Maj. Vassallo’s office and taken Vassallo’s word as fact, failing to pursue the matter further. Following Zammit’s resignation, Feilazoo attempted to pursue the matter once again, only to be labelled a trouble-maker and mistreated, leading to the current proceedings.

Feilazoo said that before he had complained about the food, he had been studying accountancy and working on a factory line producing Playmobil toys. After he had criticised the prison diet, he said, he had been transferred to another division of the prison for 100 days. The division had fewer facilities than the one in which he was originally detained and as a result, he could neither continue his studies nor work.