Moviment Graffitti along with the Maltese Association of Social Workers and aditus foundation is today holding this symbolic activity in front of the Law Courts to reiterate its position regarding the inhumane and unjust judgement whereby two migrant mothers were handed a 6-month imprisonment sentence by the Court of Magistrates for the use of forged passports, leaving their young children ‘orphaned’ by the system.
Moviment Graffitti reiterates that this sentence is a manifest example of institutionalised racism since a number of other more lenient and suitable sanctions could have effectively been meted out by the Courts. Indeed, nothing in the law precludes the Court from handing down a community-based sanction in lieu of imprisonment in such cases. Community-based sanctions under the Probation Act (Chapter 446 of the Laws of Malta) are routinely utilised for offences which carry a sentence of up to 7 years imprisonment and for offences which pose more harm to victims of crime and society in general compared to the use of forged documents by asylum seekers. It is thus clearly the case, that in such instances, the Criminal Justice System is being strong with the weak and weak with the strong.
Moviment Graffitti welcomes the sensitive coverage on the issue by the media, as well as the strong position issued by Ms. Pauline Miceli, Commissioner for Children whereby she urges the court to redress its jail sentence in order to minimise the children’s trauma and harm, in line with the provisions of the Convention for the Rights of the Child, which sustains that children should only be separated from their parents as a last resort and where it is in the child’s best interest.
Whilst due to the plight of the children involved, this case aptly raised greater awareness on the injustice and inhumanity of the Criminal Justice System towards the most weak and vulnerable, it is to be noted that the discriminate use of sentencing towards migrants and asylum seekers by the Criminal Justice System, is a long-standing ongoing practice, which unfortunately often goes unnoticed. Indeed, the overpopulation of the prison system can be partly attributed to the indiscriminate use of imprisonment sentencing for persons found guilty under the Immigration Act without any consideration to mitigating circumstances. In view of this, Moviment Graffitti calls for an immediate redress of this practice and for the application of more humane and effective alternatives, which reflect the humanitarian nature of migration and asylum seeking rather than their criminalisation.
Any punishment meted out to Maltese and foreign nationals needs to be just, reformative and proportionate to the crime committed rather than utilised as a form of retribution, incapacitation and deterrence. Otherwise, as in this case, it boils down to a form of institutionalised racism emanating from a Criminal Justice System which is unfortunately strong with the weak and weak with the strong.
Iebsa mad-Dgħajjef. Dgħajfa ma’ min hu b’Saħħtu
Il-Moviment Graffitti, flimkien mal-Assoċjazzjoni Maltija tal-Ħaddiema Soċjali u l-aditus foundation, qed jorganizzaw din l-attività simbolika quddiem il-Qorti, sabiex jisħqu fuq il-pożizzjoni tagħhom fir-rigward tat-trattament inuman u inġust taż-żewġ immigranti u ommijiet, li ngħataw il-piena ta’ sitt xhur ħabs mill-Qorti tal-Maġistrati għall-użu ta’ passaporti iffalsifikati, u li minħabba f’hekk uliedhom żgħar sfaw ‘orfni’ tas-sistema.
Il-Moviment Graffitti jisħaq li din is-sentenza hija eżempju ċar ta’ razziżmu istituzzjonalizzat fejn il-Qrati setgħu ħarġu sanzjonijiet inqas ħorox u iktar adattati. Fil-fatt, xejn ma jżomm lill-Qorti milli toħroġ sanzjoni komunitarja minflok ħabs għal każijiet bħal dawn. L-ordni ta’ servizz fil-komunità, taħt l-Att dwar il-Probation (Kapitolu 446 tal-Liġijiet ta’ Malta), spiss tintuża għal reati li jġorru s-sentenza ta’ sa 7 snin ħabs jew reati li jagħmlu iktar ħsara lill-vittmi tar-reat u lis-soċjetà b’mod ġenerali, meta mqabbla mar-reat tal-użu ta’ dokumenti iffalsifikati minn persuni li qed ifittxu l-ażil. Huwa ċar li f’każijiet bħal dawn, is-Sistema tal-Ġustizzja Kriminali qegħda tkun iebsa mad-dgħajjef u dgħajfa ma’ min hu iktar b’saħħtu.
Il-Moviment Graffitti jilqa’ l-mod kif koprew il-każ il-mezzi tax-xandir kif ukoll il-pożizzjoni li ħadet il-Kummissarju tat-Tfal, is-Sinjura Pauline Miceli, li ħeġġet lil-Qorti biex tirrimedja l-piena tal-ħabs sabiex titnaqqas kemm jista’ jkun it-trawma u l-ħsara fuq it-tfal, b’konformità mal-Konvenzjoni dwar id-Drittijiet tat-Tfal, li tisħaq li fl-interess sħiħ tat-tfal, għandha tkun dejjem l-aħħar għażla li dawn jinfatmu mill-ġenituri tagħhom.
Filwaqt li minħabba t-tbatija tat-tfal, dan il-każ ġibed iktar attenzjoni lejn Sistema tal-Ġustizzja Kriminali inġusta u inumana mal-iktar dgħajfa u vulnerabbli, niġbdu attenzjoni lejn il-fatt li sentenzi diskriminatorji fil-konfront tal-immigranti u l-persuni li qed ifittxu l-ażil, hija prattika stabbilità tas-Sistema tal-Ġustizzja Kriminali – prattika li sfortunatament spiss tiġi injorata. Il-popolazzjoni żejda fil-ħabs ġejja wkoll minn użu ħażin bħal dan ta’ pieni tal-ħabs għal persuni li jinstabu ħatja taħt l-Att dwar l-Immigrazzjoni mingħajr kunsiderazzjoni taċ-ċirkustanzi mitiganti. Fid-dawl ta’ dan, il-Moviment Graffitti jitlob ir-rimedju immedjat ta’ din il-prattika u d-dħul fis-seħħ ta’ alternattivi iktar umani u effettivi, li jenfasizzaw l-aspett umanitarju u mhux il-kriminalizzazzjoni tal-immigrazzjoni u t-tiftix tal-ażil.
Kwalunkwe pieni li jingħataw lill-Maltin jew lill-barranin għandhom ikunu ġusti, riformattivi u proporzjonali għar-reati u mhux użati bħala forma ta’ retribuzzjoni u inabbilitazzjoni. Fejn dan ma jsirx, ikun eżempju ieħor ċar tar-razziżżmu istituzzjonalizzat tas-Sistema tal-Ġustizzja Kriminali li spiss tkun iebsa mad-dgħajjef u dgħajfa ma’ min hu b’saħħtu.
