ECHR rules Malta treatment of Bangladeshi minors violated human rights

Bangladeshi nationals have been mistreated by Maltese authorities, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday, says Jurist News.

The case was ruled a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and the European court granted the applicants compensation for non-pecuniary damage. 

Additionally, it urged the Maltese government to implement a national law to ensure the protection of the rights of detained unaccompanied minors in line with the European Convention on Human Rights.

The case concerns the detention conditions of six Bangladeshi nationals who arrived in Malta in November 2022. 

At the time, they were minors, aged between 16 and 17, when Maltese authorities rescued them at sea along with other individuals and placed them in a detention centre. 

During their detention, they suffered from ill-treatment from the officers who placed them with adult migrants rather than in a special centre for minors. 

The minors also reported poor detention conditions, citing overcrowded centres, no access to outdoor spaces or private areas, lack of warm clothes, and absence of educational support. 

After two unsuccessful applications to the Immigration Appeals Court (IAB) and to the ECHR, the six minors filed a complaint to the ECHR in 2023, claiming that Maltese authorities violated their rights under Articles 3, 13, 5(1) and 5(4) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

In its ruling, the ECHR pointed out that Malta's immigration officers violated articles 3 and 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights when they placed the applicants in a centre with the adults for two months. 

The court also found that the unsuitable conditions of the minors didn't improve even after it asked the government through an interim measure to relocate them to a proper facility where they could have access to necessary amenities and educational assistance.

For this reason and taking into account the age of the detainees, the time they spent in detention, and the impact on their mental health, the European court found that the detention conditions of the Bangladeshi minors "amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment" as stated under Article 3, for five of the six applicants. 

The court added that the government violated Article 13 of the convention by failing to provide the six minors with an effective remedy to complain about their poor treatment in detention centres before a national authority.

Moreover, the court found that Maltese authorities violated the detained minors' right to liberty and security as stated under Articles 5 (1) and 5 (4). 

The court explained that the detention conditions of the applicants for 22 days without informing them of the reason or the duration and with no access to legal safeguards had no legal justification. Thus, it amounted to an unlawful detention. 

Additionally, the ECHR criticised the IAB for conducting a mass trial to review the applicants' detention order instead of holding an individualised assessment. 

Relatedly, the court found that the review of the applicant's detention order before the IAB was "an ineffective measure" because the mentioned court lacked independence and impartiality due to its close links with the executive.

Based on Article 46, the ECHR urged Malta's government to implement national legislation that outlines the selection criteria of the IAB members in addition to the requirements of independence and impartiality that they have to follow. 

It also stated that the government needs to put in place a procedure that enables detainees to complain about their ongoing detention conditions to national authorities.