A man on trial over human trafficking charges told jurors this afternoon that he was "just another passenger" and that other people on the packed boat mistook him for one of the organisers.

Ethiopian Hadish Abayu, 58, is pleading not guilty to charges of people smuggling and complicity in the trafficking of persons. He is believed to be one of the masterminds behind the 2005 trip, during which 181 people left Libya in the direction of Italy but landed in Malta.

The accused took the witness stand this afternoon after the prosecution had declared that it had exhausted its testimony.

He started off by thanking the Maltese authorities and expressing the wish that the same democratic system be introduced to his home country of Ethiopia.

He explained how he moved to Sudan for ten years before travelling to Libya in 2003. Mr Abayu said his wife and four children already lived in Malta in 2005, having left on an earlier trip. 

"Two times I paid to come to Europe. They (the organisers) take our money and run away," he told jurors. "We were 187 people waiting on the coast (of Libya). We had to pay money before being allowed on board the boat. I was a passenger like the others. The Libyan men split us in three groups in order to save time to pay the money."

The witness continued. "Since I speak Arabic and I was older than the others, Osman ( the Libyan organiser) selected me to collect the money for one of these groups - 55 people.  I collected $46,000 dollars," he said, adding that this money included his own $1,000 payment. "I gave money to Osman in front of everyone."

Mr Abayu said the party was discovered by a police patrol and six people were arrested. The others, including him, ran away.

"We were supposed to go to Italy but when we were close to Malta the captain said there was a problem with the motor and he decided to change course. When we arrived in Malta some people started asking questions about the six who had been arrested in Libya and the money they had paid. They reported me to the police because they had seen me collect the money from them. I told the police then what I am telling you now. When I collected the money for Osman in Libya I did not realise that I was creating problems for myself."

He told jurors that he was not a people smuggler, arguing that with the kind of money that traffickers make he would have stayed in Libya, not risked his life at sea. He also claimed that some of those who had reported him to the police had since realised their mistake and apologized to him.

Cross examined by lawyer Vincienne Vella, from the Attorney General's Office, the defendant said he had previously worked as a teacher and a school director, and had also done a stint in politics.

He was asked why he had boarded a boat to Italy when his wife and children were in Malta. Mr Abayu replied that his plan was to travel from Italy to London, where he would study and work to support his family.

Dr Vella said the accused had earlier claimed he had no money to support his family - so how could he afford living and studying in London? The defendant replied that he had not checked about the cost of living in London when he made his plans. He said he had paid for the trip using money he received from his wife's family in Australia.

Mr Abayu said he spent the first eight months in Malta in a detention centre. He then spent four months in prison for 'unknown reasons.' This was followed by another three-month stint at the detention centre. He was then released and told he had to sign at a police station every day. He admitted that he had broken the law when he escaped to Switzerland but said he had done so because no one wanted to employ him in Malta. He also said he was aware that he had come to Malta illegally. When asked why he had accepted to collect the money for the traffickers, the defendant said the only thing on his mind back then was escaping from Libya.

Dr Vella pointed out that, in his original police statement in 2005, Mr Abayu said he was betrayed by some of the passengers because of his political past. "They got it in their mind that, because I was a political commissioner in Eritrea, I was their enemy," he said. Dr Vella asked why he had now changed his version and claimed that people lied about him over the six passengers who never left Libya.

Earlier during the day, the prosecution read out statements given by some of the migrants who had paid for the trip.

Eritrean Mabrahatom Brahi Tahle had recounted how he paid $700 dollars to the accused with the intention of going to Italy. He had also paid some $300 to another man. The accused was also collecting money from other passengers. The witness said he had first met the accused in Libya. "He told me to pay him and leave. I wanted to go to Italy and I paid Hadish in cash." Mr Tahle said other men - Libyans - were involved in the organization of the trip.

The statement of another Eritrean migrant, Eritrean Wildeberem Talizgi, was read out. He and his brother had given Hadish $2,400. His brother was told that, because the boat was full, he would have to stay in Libya until another trip was organized.

Yosef Zoru, another of the 180 passengers, said he had paid $1,000 directly to Hadish. The plan was to go to Italy but, because of the difficult situation they found themselves in, the boat ended up in Malta.

Defence lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace is expected to produce more witnesses tomorrow.