Two men of Maltese nationality were arraigned in court accused of helping a group of illegal immigrants to escape from Malta on December 21, 2005. Dennis Mackay, 32, of Valletta and Gordon Dimech, 28, of Hamrun were accused of assisting the illegal immigrants with the intention of making money.
According to evidence in court, the two men had bought a boat to sell it to illegal immigrants to make profit.
The court granted both the accused bail against a personal guarantee of Lm10,000 and a deposit of Lm1,000.
In turn, four illegal immigrants, Egyptians and a Sudanese were jailed for a month in prison each after pleading guilty to trying to escape from Malta.
The Egyptian illegal immigrants, Mukhtar Rabi Danian Abu Salem, 19; Galal Salaheddion Al Said, 19; and 29-year-old Yousef Mohammed were accused of trying to flee on a boat on March 3 this year from Armier Bay near Mellieħa. This escape ended in tragedy after the boat capsized leaving one immigrants dead and other nine missing.
Yousef Mohammed and the Sudanese illegal immigrant Hafis Mohammed Ibrahim Bertawi, 29, were also accused of an attempted sea escape on December 21, 2005. They had requested help since the boat stopped a few miles off the Grand Harbour.
The prosecution was led by Inspectors Jeffrey Cilia and Josric Mifsud, while lawyers Leslie Cuschieri and Daniela Mangion appeared for the accused.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, a man and his daughter, both Maltese were accused of assisting the illegal immigrants in their attempted sea escape on March 3.
See also:
Two Maltese charged with assisting immigrants to escape
By MaltaMedia News - Mar 7, 2006, 12:16 CET
Read more about this issue on MaltaMedia's special feature:
Lanċa Ġejja u Oħra Sejra: Malta and its migrations.
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