A former Corradino Correctional Facility inmate who had committed suicide was bullied by other inmates in front of the guards, according to a manuscript written by a recently released inmate who has remained anonymous.
The 41-page manuscript details the treatment of prisoners at the Corradino Correctional Facility and outlines the issues seen and experienced. The manuscript, aside from being sent to this newsroom, was also sent to the Office of the Ombudsman, the Board of enquiry looking into the internal prison procedures and the Home Affairs Ministry, among others.
The manuscript reads that an inmate named ‘Mario’, who had committed suicide in Division 4 (presumably being Mario Jean-Paul Carmelo Fenech who died on the 27th of October 2019), was being bullied by other inmates, “in the presence of COs (Correctional Officers) daily. His nickname was ‘is-Satanist’. On one occasion, Mario asked an inmate to cut his hair, and they shaved it in patches to ridicule him in the shower and mocked him all the way to his cell, in the presence of guards, who did nothing to stop it. The officer that day spoke candidly, laughing and brushing it off to other inmates. Some guard made fun of this prisoner committing suicide.”
The author said that this behaviour by the guards was unacceptable, and said they “obviously” had no training and had not gone through proper selection interviews and psychological profile assessments to determine their ability and understanding of their duties as caretakers of these inmates.
The author spoke of other people who died, ‘Walid’, (presumably referring to Walid Ben Ali). “After Walid drank thinners, inmates were not encouraged to seek support after one of their own killed himself in such a brutal way. Instead, mouthwash and peroxide were removed from the available shopping list. After every suicide, inmates at the prison ruffle up like chickens in a coop! Prisoners are never offered intervention at these times, like would happen at any workplace or school, should the same take place.”
The author said that a magisterial board for ‘deaths in custody; should be set up, as “the rate of suicide in Maltese prisons is exorbitant”.
The author mentions other former prisoners, saying that one of them overdosed one week after spending around 7 months awaiting trial at the CCF. “On his last day, when authorities knew he had been granted bail and was on his way out of the CCF, he was subjected to solitary confinement in division 13 for having some words with an officer. This is what was in his mind when he left prison.”
Another inmate, the author said, who was at the CCF on sexual offences, served his sentence in division 8 for infractions with an 18-year-old inmate from the same division. “He served the last month of his sentence in division 6. He hanged himself one month after he was released.”
The author also took aim at the NGO Fondazzjoni Mid-Dlam ghad-Dawl, calling it ‘toothless’. “There is one NGO, MDD Malta, which has been allowed access to walk around divisions and speak to inmates. This NGO is toothless and kowtows to the prison authority. They are toothless and insist on tackling issues at the prison in a diplomatic manner, to avoid being refused access, when other NGOs do not.”
The author said that the head of the NGO might have good intentions, “but is not prepared to confront the issues pertaining to the prison condition.”
14 prisoners had died while Colonel Alex Dalli was the head of the CCF. He recently suspended himself after the latest suspected suicide - that of Indian national Arun Jose.
Robert Brincau has been appointed as the Acting CEO Correctional Services Agency in Dalli’s stead. Brincau leads the detention services and for a number of years was the Director of Operations at Red Cross Malta.