THREE men who prevented the return of 108 refugees to Libya in 2019 lost their appeal to dismiss the criminal charges against them at a court in Malta today.

Early on March 26 2019, Abdalla Bari, Amara Kromah and Abdul Kader escaped Libya — where they were held in slave-like conditions and tortured by human traffickers — on a rubber boat with 114 others. They hoped to reach safety in Europe. Six people died along the way.

Later that day, an oil tanker named El Hiblu found the rubber boat floating in international waters in the central Mediterranean and brought them aboard.

The ship’s captain told the survivors that they would be taken to Europe, but the European maritime authorities ordered him to head south, where the refugees would be taken back to Libya — despite human rights and maritime laws forbidding such action.

On hearing that they were to be pushed back to Libya, the rescued protested and three teenagers — Bari, Kromah and Kader, then aged 15, 16 and 19, respectively — acted as translators. None of the crew were injured and the ship was undamaged.

The crew were eventually convinced to steer the ship towards Malta, where it was stormed by the military. Bari, Kromah and Kader were arrested and accused of multiple crimes, including terrorism.

The three, dubbed the El Hiblu 3 by human rights campaigners and activists, spent months behind bars, were released on bail in November 2019 and ordered to register at a police station every day since.

At a court hearing in May 2024, the El Hiblu 3 argued that Malta had no jurisdiction over their case as events happened outside Malta’s territorial waters and that no Maltese citizens were involved.

The court dismissed it then, and a court of appeal upheld the verdict today. The judges concluded that the facts “can only be decided by the jury during the trial.”

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Kromah said that he was devastated and angry.  

“When we finally had the opportunity to escape the inhumane treatments in Libya,” he said, “we couldn’t afford to be returned to a place where our freedoms and safety were not guaranteed any more and coming to Malta was the only option we had to save our lives.”

Mr Bari said: “I am shattered. The past five years, I had a very messy and complicated life and I don’t know when this ordeal will finally stop,” he said.

“But one thing is clear, I have faith in God that all this will end one day, because we are innocent.”

Mr Kader has been missing since 2023 and was not at court yesterday.

In a statement today Amnesty International said it was disappointed by the court’s decision.

“Malta’s misuse of the criminal justice system to deter people from attempting to seek safety in Europe is unacceptable,” the organisation said.

“This case represents everything that is wrong with EU institutions and member states’ migration policies in the central Mediterranean.”