The opportunity to finally end the trial of the El Hiblu 3 was missed today at the court of Malta as, after a short court session, it became clear that the case was not dismissed as a coalition of NGOs supporting the three accused insists.
“We are appalled that Amara, Kader and Abdalla will remain in legal limbo after more than five years,” the NGOs said in a statement.
Since they arrived in Malta in 2019, their lives have been put on hold. Their youth has been stolen. For acting as translators and mediators on the merchant vessel El Hiblu 1 and playing an important role in preventing the forced return of over 100 people to Libya, they continue to pay a very high price.
“We have said it for years: clearly, they are neither criminals nor terrorists. They are defenders of human rights. Only weeks ago, in April 2024, the three received the Human Rights Defenders Award at the University of Malta,” the coalition said. When presenting the three with the award, her Excellency Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, the former President of Malta, stated: “Their bravery and courage have been an inspiration to all Human Rights Defenders across the globe.”
That the three are still not free of the charges is devastating. The case that Amnesty International has condemned as a ‘travesty of justice’ is still not over, the coalition said.
The coalition is made up of the following:
ADPD – Maltas Green Party
African Media Association Malta
Border Forensics
borderline-europe
Captain Support Network
CPT – Aegean Migrant Solidarity
Cyrus Engerer, MEP
Dance Beyond Borders
de:border // migration justice collective
Democratic Lawyers Switzerland
European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights (ELDH)
European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)
European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE)
#FreePylos9 Campaign
Human Rights Legal Project
Iuventa crew
KOPIN
LeaveNoOneBehind
Legal Centre Lesvos
Moviment Graffitti
MV Louise Michel project
r42-SailAndRescue
ResqShip e.V.
Salvamento Marítimo Humanitario
Sea Punks e.V.
Sea-Watch e.V.
SOS Humanity e.V.
You can’t evict Solidarity!
XENION e.V.