“The first thing I told the doctor who examined me when I returned to Malta was that I had been hit on the head and was forced to hit myself in the hand with a piece of wood with rusty nails in it. I showed him the scars. I just cannot understand why these marks were not mentioned in my medical report.”

Former AFM Captain Martin Galea, who spent 11 days in captivity in Libya, has questioned why the medical report omitted important details after it was leaked earlier this week to the l-Orizzont newspaper, which has tried to cast doubts over his version of events.

In an exclusive interview published in The Malta Independent this week, Mr Galea recounted how one of his captors had hit him on the head with a wooden knife handle and how he was also forced to harm himself with a piece of wood that had rusty nails in it and had once formed part of a clothes hanger in the cell in which he was kept. Journalists from this newsroom who interviewed Mr Martin at his home were shown the marks on his head and the palm of his hand, as well as a cut on his wrist he suffered when he was tightly handcuffed. For some reason these were not included in the medical report.

Mr Galea noted that when he was examined at Mater Dei, senior Malta Security Service (MSS) personnel were in the ward and heard everything he had told the medical staff.

Mr Galea went back to Mater Dei Hospital yesterday in a bid to have his report updated but was told that the medical staff who had examined him were not on duty during the weekend. He will try again tomorrow.

In a press conference on Thursday, even the government admitted that the fact that the medical report did not give details of signs of violence does not mean that Mr Galea did not suffer at the hands of his captors.

‘I had all the necessary documents’

Mr Galea had already reacted angrily to media reports claiming that he had not been abducted, but rather “held for his own safety”. The same media house fell silent after Mr Galea’s interview was published by The Malta Independent. Even the government had to concede that Mr Galea had been abducted in Libya.

Then on Friday, l-Orizzont reported that Mr Galea’s medical test results were “positive” and there was nothing “suspicious”. Apart from obtaining personal details from his health file, which is actually illegal, the newspaper also selected details from the interview to try and cast doubt over his first hand version of events.

The report, for instance, quoted “a former colleague” of Mr Galea, who chose to remain anonymous and claimed that Mr Galea was arrested because he lacked the necessary paperwork, including what is called a “desert pass”. Mr Galea, however, categorically denies this claim. “I had a desert pass in my pocket and the drivers had my passport, a letter of authorisation in Arabic and a manifest in Arabic, with my name on it. I cannot understand how anyone could rely on an anonymous source and claim otherwise.”

He is also disputing the claim that he was captured by “friendly militia” and insisted that friendly militia would not have kidnapped him, robbed him of all his belongings – including his wedding ring, starved him for four days, used violence against him and plotted his execution.

l’Orrizont which, for some reason has taken a keen interest in attacking Mr Galea’s credibility, also pointed out that there were other contradictions, including the name of the company with which he worked. In the video interview, Mr Galea correctly said that he worked with Agesco. The written report, however, incorrectly said Nageco, Mr Galea’s former employer, four years previously. The error is regretted.

Perhaps, the most insulting part for Mr Galea was when a “Libyan general” was quoted as saying that Martin “should be grateful” that he was captured by a friendly militia.

 

Report confirms he was maltreated

To return to the medical report, while it does not mention any physical violence, it does corroborate Mr Galea’s account of mistreatment by his Libyan captors and mentions that he had a high white blood cell count, which may have been a result of starvation, an eye infection, sweat sores or an intestinal infection caused by drinking contaminated water. Mr Galea himself has claimed in the interview that he was badly treated and left in a hot and humid room for 11 days. He also claimed to have gone without food for four consecutive days.

The report confirms that Mr Galea had hypokalaemia, a condition indicative of low potassium in the blood. One of the possible causes of this condition is starvation.

He also has preorbital conjunctivitis and a mild conjunctival infection which, in simple terms, means an infection of the eyelid and areas of the skin around the eye.

Another condition identified is gastroenteritis, or infectious diarrhoea; the result of inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract that involves both the stomach and the small intestine. This can be the result of drinking contaminated water.

The report also says that Mr Galea had a condition called neutrophilia, which means a high white blood cell count and is most commonly caused by a bacterial infection. Mr Galea is due to have further blood tests shortly.

Apart from the signs of violence, Mr Galea also showed our journalists large sores on his inner thighs, arms, back and abdomen, caused by constant sweating, which caused his clothes to stick to his skin. There are also the psychological effects of his ordeal.