A 30-year-old man from Georgia was sentenced to three months in prison following his illegal entry into Malta.

The man, Vaja Tsikoridze, who currently resides in Sliema, appeared before magistrate Aaron Bugeja for failing to officially declare his entry into Malta after being deported in May 2017. The accused was apprehended by the police on 25 July 2017.

Police Inspector Darren Buhagiar explained that after being deported, the man re-entered Malta using a different surname. He said that CID wanted to verify his migration position which appeared to be irregular. Further inspection showed that there was an alert on the man’s name and confirmed that the Maltese authorities had deported him.

The accused was originally deported in May, when he was heading back to his country through the Malta International Airport. Migration police realised that the accused had overstayed his visa. He was therefore deported and ordered to stay out of the country. In a search at his residence, the police found that the man was in possession of two identity cards, each with a different surname.

He had told the police that it was normal practice in his country to go to the Ministry of Justice and apply for an ID card with a different surname.

The prosecution argued that given the circumstances, the man should be sent behind bars. The inspector argued that Malta needs to send a message that these things are illegal and it is not right to go round the laws in such a manner.

The man pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him. However, the magistrate clarified that the accused has every right to say he is not guilty and wait for witnesses to appear in other proceedings.

He insisted that he got to know that what he did was illegal only when he came to Malta and reconfirmed his guilty plea.

Defence said that the accused should not be sent in jail for the shortcomings of the system applied in his country. “In his case, it was a genuine mistake. He did not know the system worked differently in Malta,” defence lawyer Leontine Calleja added. She also noted that he always collaborated with the police, since the very beginning.

The court found the man guilty of the charges. After considering his admittance and collaboration with police, noting that he was already deported out of the country before and adopted a strategy to come back to Malta, the magistrate sentenced the man to three months in prison.