Two men jailed for four years for violence, arson, at migrant camp riot
Two Egyptian migrants have been jailed for four years each for their involvement in last December's riots at Safi detention centre and complicity in arson which caused damages of €86,914.69.
Guma Mohammed and Yousef Halef Abdel Hamid, who had initially claimed to be Palestinian and Libyan respectively, were among 22 migrants who were arrested during the disturbance shortly before Christmas.
What started out as a peaceful protest had degenerated into a riot, with stones and other items thrown at staff and the police.
At one point the two accused, along with some eight other migrants, had headed into one of the tents, which served as a dormitory to 170 residents.
Soon after, the tent was engulfed by a raging fire, the court was told.
A detention officer who described the incident, told the court that the tent cost €70,000, while each of the 170 beds cost €75. Those figures, added to the cost of linen that went up in smoke, resulted in €86,914.69 in damages.
Magistrate Joseph Mifsud said that complicity in the arson attack, wilful damage to third party property, disobedience of legitimate orders and breach of peace, had been sufficiently proven.
“Public order applies to all,” he...