Migrant's long journey to join boyfriend in Malta before leaving for the US ends in prison
An 18-year-old Eritrean woman's desperate bid to join her partner in Malta while he awaits relocation to the United States suffered a setback today when she was jailed for a month for coming here using false documents.
Dehab Arefe was convicted of having made use of a false passport and other personal documents to gain entry into Malta from Eritrea via Italy.
The woman had wanted to join her boyfriend who is currently in Malta but has been selected for relocation to the United States. But the court ordered that once she serves her sentence, she must be sent back to Italy.
The court heard the prosecution argue that such cases were on the rise and therefore, immigration laws needed to be applied strictly to deter such unlawful migrants from seeking refuge in Malta.
The defence argued that this was a humanitarian case. The accused had fled Eritrea to avoid military service and out of a desire to join her loved one who had obtained refugee status in Malta and who, recently had received the welcome news of his relocation to the United States.
"This was an act committed out of despair to join her partner" the court was told by the defence.
Magistrate Aaron Bugeja observed that...