Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1393937
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 JULY 2021 NEWS For more information: 21496277 www.casa-antonia.com.mt info@casa-antonia.com Casa Antonia, Pope Alexander VII Junction, Balzan BZN1530 A member of St George's Care Limited. SITUATIONS VACANT St. George's Care, operators of Casa Antonia Nursing and Residential Home, Balzan, and The Imperial, in Sliema is seeking to recruit: NURSES RECEPTIONISTS CARE ASSISTANTS WAITERS DOMESTIC CLEANERS INTERESTED PERSONS ARE ENCOURAGED TO: Visit us to get a feel of our work environment and are invited to send an application including a detailed CV. All applications will be treated in confidence and should be sent to info@casa-antonia.com.mt or addressed to: The Group Human Resources Manager Casa Antonia Nursing & Residential Home, Pope Alexander VII Junction, Balzan, BZN 1530. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence. St George Care Limited is an equal opportunity employer. LIVE SENIOR LIFE WELL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Lawyers who spoke to this newspaper on condition of an- onymity to protect their clients said the one-hour timespan is too short to allow them time to speak to their clients and build a proper case. "Even then, you speak to your client from behind a Perspex window, while family members of other inmates are sat next to you speaking to their relatives," a criminal lawyer said. "You cannot even take in documents with you, because the prison officials bar you from doing so, unless you file a special request which is not always met." Lawyers also claim that it is hard to contact their clients over the phone. "While it's not the best way to speak to your client, due to the fact that calls are recorded, even when calling them, pris- oners are not always reacha- ble," another lawyer said. The sources added that the one-hour allotment outside the cell is constantly changing, which adds to the frustration. The European Court of Hu- man Rights case law states that "any person who wishes to con- sult a lawyer should be free to do so under conditions which favour full and uninhibited dis- cussion." This is not being re- spected with new entrants into prison, the sources said. But the Home Affairs Min- istry has denied the claims, insisting "the quarantine peri- od is in line with the stipulat- ed health protocols", and that "prisoners have access to their lawyer everyday between the hours of 2pm and 6pm". "It must be made clear that all prisoners have complete ac- cess to their lawyers during the designated hours," the ministry spokesperson said. "In cases which involve a jury, a prisoner may also meet with their law- yer after the stipulated hours if the need arises." MaltaToday reached out to the Chamber of Advocates with a spokesperson say- ing that while "rumours and grumblings" on the issue have reached it, no formal com- plaint has ever been made to it. "If a formal complaint is re- ceived, the Chamber will inves- tigate the case," a spokesperson said. But the sources said the prob- lem with filing a complaint lies in clients refusing to do so be- cause they fear repercussions. "The problem is that when clients are told that they need to open a constitutional case on the issue, they refrain from doing so out of fear that there would be repercussions for speaking out, as well as, not wanting to be victimised," they said. Limited access to lawyers, ministry denies claims "If a formal complaint is received, the Chamber will investigate the case" More deaths in Med sea in 2021 IN the first half of 2021, at least 1,146 people lost their lives on maritime routes to Europe, a substantial increase compared to the fatalities recorded in the same period in 2020 (513) and 2019 (674). The Mediterranean Sea was the main site of these fatalities: 896 people are known to have died attempting to reach Europe across this body of water from January to June 2021, represent- ing a 130% increase compared to the same period in 2020. The most lives lost were re- corded on the Central (741) and Western (149) Mediterranean routes, whereas six people died taking the Eastern Mediterrane- an route from Turkey to Greece. Data shows 409 were men, 104 were women and 50 were chil- dren. For the rest, there is no information on their sex or age. Most of them were nationals from Northern Africa (139), fol- lowed by Western Africa (120), and other regions (10). Howev- er, the nationality of 872 individ- uals remains unknown. The number of people attempt- ing to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe in the first six months of 2021 increased by 58% compared to the same period in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic and the mobility re- strictions put in place to contain its spread may explain the lower number of people attempting to migrate on maritime routes to Europe in the first half of 2020 (47,865), which was also 17% few than in the same period in 2019. Data shows an increase in North African states' maritime operations: 31,565 people were intercepted by North African authorities in the first half of 2021, compared to 23,117 in the first six months of 2020 and 17,971 in the equivalent period of 2019. The number of individuals in- tercepted by the Tunisian Coast Guard increased by 90% in Jan- uary to June 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, and during this time at least 220 migrants lost their lives off the coast of Tunisia. There has also been a large in- crease in the number of migrants intercepted at sea by Libyan au- thorities: 15,330 people were returned to Libya in the first six months of 2021, almost three times as many as in the same pe- riod of 2020 (5,476 people). This is particularly worrying, given that migrants who are intercept- ed at sea and returned to Libya are subjected to arbitrary deten- tion, extortion, disappearance, and torture. At least 454 people have lost their lives off the coast of Libya between January and June 2021, compared to 130 in the equivalent period of 2020.