Maltese opposition parties and the non-governmental organization “Repubblica” have filed a lawsuit in a local court against Prime Minister Robert Abela, accusing him of letting 12 immigrants who came from Libya via the Mediterranean die at sea.
According to the lawsuit, the incident came after Maltese authorities forced a boat carrying 51 illegal immigrants to return to Libya last week, 5 of whom died on the return journey, while 7 others were considered missing after spending days in Maltese territorial waters.
Prime Minister Robert Abela confirmed that the police had opened an investigation into him and the commander of the Maltese Armed Forces, Geoffrey Kormi, about this lawsuit, according to Times of Malta newspaper.
Abela defended himself by saying that the island is no longer a safe port for the migrants to be disembarked, as the whole country’s resources have focused on dealing with the outbreak of the Coronavirus epidemic.
