Fr Mintoff said that one of them is in fact not “open” at all, with people tightly restricted in their movements. The other camp is the complete opposite, he said. There is no control whatsoever, and there is a substantial waste of resources and provisions.

Fr Mintoff added that after being released, the immigrants have no legal status whatsoever.

He said “refugee status”, which provides regular citizenship rights including employment rights and benefits, is rarely awarded.

Those given “humanitarian status”, Fr Mintoff said, are given some Lm8 a week for two months and a permit to work which does not include the rights of regular employment. This permit allows the holder to work but is not regulated by employment law.

Most of the immigrants released are granted neither refugee nor humanitarian status, and are therefore in “limbo”.

Referring to a report published recently by Amnesty International, he said a number of the 235 or so Eritreans released recently by the Maltese authorities had been tortured when repatriated.

Fr Mintoff added that the request for refugee status, made by a second group of 67 Eritreans, was refused. An appeal was also rejected without the trial ever taking place, and they were about to be sent back to their country.

He said the Peace Lab had asked for the legal assistance of Dr George Abela, Dr Lydia Zerafa and Dr Sandro Schembri Adami who had prepared a report for each and every individual. However, they were never given the opportunity to present this information in a hearing.

Two cases were filed at the law courts: the first against the Appeals Board which, Fr Mintoff claimed, had not given the immigrants a fair hearing, and the second was a constitutional case against the government, claiming it would not be doing its duty if the Eritreans were repatriated.

A court sentence given by Magistrate David Scicluna eventually stopped the deportation process.

The Peace Lab is requesting that the government gives this second group of Eritreans a fair trial, especially in the light of what Amnesty International said had happened to the first group.

Fr Mintoff complained that even though a forum had been set up for non-governmental organisations to discuss the immigrants’ situation with the government, it was not being convened any more. And even when it used to meet, no proposal by a NGO was ever accepted.

He thus requested that the committee starts meeting again, and that immigrants be at least given humanitarian status.