Malta’s board of visitors for detained migrants, which acts the national body against torture, conducted 37 visits at Malta’s detention centres since being set up in November 2007.
A further 17 surprise visits were carried out in the centres.
The board of visitors was set up by government as an independent mechanism to monitor the administration of the detention service and to receive complaints from those in detention.
The board is responsible for the monthly inspection of detention centres and allows detainees to make confidential complaints over their treatment in detention centres.
The board also inspects food at the detention centres and reports on cases of abuse or urgent physical or mental health matters, and monitors the detention centres’ disciplinary system.
But board chairman Herbert Agius recently stepped down from his position, citing health reasons. He told MaltaToday this week that certain conditions in detention centres had yet to be changed, although he did not expand in detail.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs said all complaints addressed to the board this year had been referred directly to the Commander of Detention Services for appropriate action, but did not say how many complaints had been and what was their nature.
“Incidents which are considered of a more serious nature are also referred to the ministry and subject to further inquiry, as was the case in the allegations of abuse in March 2008,” the ministry said, referring to an internal inquiry which was concluded in May.
All recommendations by the board are communicated to the Commander of Detention Services. “These recommendations are taken into account and all possible improvements are adopted where possible within the budgetary and operational constraints, and influx of irregular immigrants,” the ministry said.
The board members are Maryanne Agius, Charles Micallef, Joseph C. Borg, David Azzopardi, and Susan Sacco Mulvaney.

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