Feras Al Haddad, a Syrian 26-year-old asylum seeker, today was handed a suspended sentence after being returned to Malta for illegally escaping to Sweden.

The Inspector said that Mr Al Haddad came to Malta in 2013 tragedy, and was one of the survivors of the Lampedusa tragedy in which over 200 migrants had perished. In March 2014, he escaped Malta through Italy and ended up in Sweden. Mr Al Haddad was caught and sent back.

Mr Haddad pleaded guilty to the charge and was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years. The magistrate explained that the maximum sentence in such a case is an €11,000 fine and imprisonment, warning him not to do it again. The inspector said that does not know exactly how Mr Haddad left Malta.

The Dublin 2 regulation requires that migrants who are registered in one country be sent back should they be found in another.