Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1403840
16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 AUGUST 2021 NEWS NGOs want radical prison reform, call for ombudsman MATTHEW VELLA A wide cross-section of civ- il society and NGOs yesterday condemned what they called the "ongoing uncertainty" at the Corradino prisons, follow- ing the death of Colin Galea, 30, eight days after his attempted suicide while incarcerated. NGOs such as Aditus, the an- ti-poverty forum, the national youth council KNZ, gay rights movement MGRM, and Mov- iment Graffitti, called for a long-term and deep-rooted re- view of current practices, and a radical reform to a culture of punishment, retribution and disparagement inside the Mal- tese prisons under the present leadership of Lt. Col. Alexander Dalli. They also called for the institu- tion of an Ombudsman for Pris- on and Probation. The number of deaths regis- tered at Corradino in these last years has climbed to 13 individ- uals, including the recent deaths by suicide of a 30-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman. Da- ta from the Council of Europe confirm that the suicide rate at CCF ranks amongst the highest in Europe - second after Iceland, which itself has a population of less than 500,000. "This fact, combined with dubious operational methods more distinctive of a long-gone archaic prison model, is ex- tremely concerning. One needs to keep in mind that the correc- tions phase is an essential one in the continuum of services within the criminal justice sys- tem. When this fails, it puts the whole system at risk and causes significant collateral damage," the NGOs said. University dean Prof. Andrew Azzopardi, who has been a standard bearer for prison re- form, said the NGOs were trou- bled by the lack of transparency on these deaths. "In most cas- es, inquiry outcomes were not made public. This lack of access has hampered the ability of aca- demics, policy makers and pro- fessionals to provide insight and substantive recommendations that help improve sub-stand- ard services within the facili- ty. It also prejudices the ability of inmates' family members to achieve closure following their bereavement." And with no comment from home affairs minister Byron Camilleri since the death of Col- in Galea, the NGOs remarked on the inadequate reaction be- ing provided by state authorities in response to this crisis. "It took yet another suicide for an in- quiry on current operative pro- cedures to be commissioned." The NGOs also said they were troubled by the long-delayed actions to bring about the nec- essary reforms for a modern and effective corrections model. "We recommend that efforts are made to monitor existing condi- tions of confinement, re-think the use of solitary confinement, while also developing substan- tive mechanisms to recommend best practices as related to the health, safety, welfare, and the rehabilitation of inmates. "We believe that rehabilitation in Malta's correctional system must be a process founded on family and community support. Therefore, there should be ac- tionable care plans for families of inmates." Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri yesterday broke his si- lence, five days after the death of prison inmate Colin Galea, for which an internal inquiry was launched since his attempted suicide two weeks ago. In a Facebook statement, Camilleri said that the board carrying out the inquiry into the death of Galea will be revising mental and physical assessment for prison inmates. He added nothing new to what has tran- spired since the death of the prison inmate. "I'm ready to work with every- one, with critics of the system and mine personally… I often have to hold back from com- menting, despite my access to the true facts, because I have a greater responsibility that such personal information does not become public," Camilleri said, without referring specifically to Colin Galea, whose death he on- ly mentioned in connection with the ongoing internal inquiry. "I believe in a discussion based on facts, of respect towards the institutions which seem to be ignored when their judgement falls out of favour," Camilleri said. Shadow minister Beppe Fenech Adami accused Camill- eri of being "completely de- tached from the reality of the precarious situation within the prisons", saying Camilleri had not offered any apology to the families of the inmates or held himself accountable for the deaths inside CCF. "Byron Camilleri chose to de- fend the prison director, under whom all these deaths have oc- curred and defended the cur- rent system that is causing all these deaths. Camilleri has no authority to change the defec- tive prison system and therefore he has to shoulder the political responsibility for all the deaths and problems inside the prison walls." Camilleri said the inquiry board will also evaluate the in- ternal procedures employed by the Correctional Services Agen- cy, to scrutinise prison assess- ments for physical and mental health, induction rules, suicide prevention measures, and pris- on rehabilitation services. Camilleri said he saw Corra- dino as a place of greater order than it ever was, but that suf- fered from an explosion in pris- on population that has placed greater pressure on the facility, with the added problem of syn- thetic drugs finding their way into the premises. "It is essen- tial we do not return to the lais- sez-faire system that there was previously." Camilleri breaks silence, will review prison induction and mental health assessment for inmates Home Affairs minister Bryon Camilleri