Last week’s Saturday’s news that a Malian immigrant, we will call him Zoto as his friends did, had died under custody in the back of a Detention Services van following a brutal beating, at the hands of whom is still to be established, was shocking to say the least.

Justice in this case must be served, and served to the full – by the courts of law and by no one else.

And irrespective of who was ultimately responsible for his death − whether at the hands of his guards or if the actual death blows had been dealt before he had been placed in the back of that van − he was still killed under our watch, under the watch of this country and under the watch of those who are tasked, and paid, to prevent people in their care from being beaten to death – irrespective of who they are, where they come from or the colour of their skin.

Much of the country has been shocked even further by the reaction of a large swathe of this supposedly Christian land, which has jumped on board the racist bandwagon and which has over the last week come up with virtually every reason under the sun why our men in the Detention Services have it so hard. That may be true but that is certainly no valid excuse for beating someone to death. That is their job and they are meant to do that job without killing anyone, full stop, and there are no excuses to be made for these people if they are found guilty or complicit in Zoto’s brutal death.

That the Detention Services have a hard time with people who are incarcerated for committing no crime − no crime because the right to seek asylum in another country, in Malta or anywhere else for that matter, is an international legal right − is not being questioned. We are fully aware of the hardships and treatment that those manning the centres have to deal with, and we applaud those who do that job, certainly not an easy one, as they should and to the best of their ability.

Just a day after Zoto was found dead, and when charges of murder were pressed, the Maltese social media and the commentary section of some websites were ablaze with blatant racism and disgusting racist sentiments that seem to fall foul of the country’s hate crimes legislation. For a country that calls itself Christian, this kind of behaviour is nothing short of stomach turning considering that a young man had been slain in the prime of his life.

We will not even begin to go into the merits of the case − that has already been done far too much for anyone’s liking. No one is a judge and jury, except for the actual appointed judge and jury when the case does eventually come to trial.

And those who are crying for the heads of the accused are just as wrong in doing so as those who insist the accused are innocent of the charges levelled against them. Who of any of these people were at the Safi detention centre that fateful day, and how many of them were in the back of that Detention Services van the night that Zoto lost his life? The answer is none, and as such no one has any right to argue those people’s guilt or innocence.

What is concerning about the aftermath of Zoto’s death is the fact that two very separate sides of the equation have been formed − those who insist that the accused are innocent, and those who insist on their guilt – and both sides are demanding justice.

Both stances are completely wrong. In actual fact the only rational stance is to wait until justice has run its course, until the investigations have been completed and justice has been served. And both sides of this dangerous equation are planning public demonstrations. As matters stand, this polemic makes for a very dangerous cocktail indeed. Let us jump to no more premature conclusions.

The Church must also be applauded for its stance taken on the matter, and for having called for justice to be served as quickly as possible and for reflection on the country’s detention policy.

“What led to the death of this man while he was under the control of the forces of law and order,” the Bishops of Malta and Gozo asked. They also called on society to reflect on its attitude towards those who seek asylum in Malta, and stressed that racist speeches, comments and behaviour showing contempt for migrants are against the teachings of the Gospel.

That so many in this country, after one such incident, reacts in such a way shows that their moral compass has truly gone haywire and if they were to turn to the Church, they would be able to correct that compass with the Bishops’ statement.

This newspaper has harped on the need for integration, real integration, for years now and we are quickly becoming blue in the face. If this latest tragedy does not lead to concrete action along such lines, as well as a serious review of the country’s detention system, which we have also highlighted for years, we do not know what will.

From the outset of the migration phenomenon back in 2005, there has been a rampant growth in racism and this has happened under this government’s watch, and it did little in concrete terms to quell it. In fact, it as well as the Opposition have continually stoked the flames for their own political ends.

Zoto, we have chosen to refer to as your friends did although we did not know you because, at least in death, you are the friend of all decent, moral people in Malta. For having died as you did under our watch, we apologise to your loved ones who you have had to leave behind so prematurely.