El Hiblu 3 mark five years in limbo

Free the El Hiblu 3,
today, marks the fifth anniversary of the Abdalla, Amara and Kader arriving in Malta, regretting that five years of their dreams have been on hold.

“Five years of legal limbo. Five years of going to court monthly. But also five years of strength and resilience and friendship,” it said.

Abdalla, Amara and Kader reached Malta on 28 March 2019. They got arrested, accused, and put on trial by #Malta. After seven months they were released from detention on bail – but that only marks the beginning of their ongoing legal limbo.

The #ElHiblu3 work hard: After work they go home, pray, cook, rest, go to work again. Once a month this pattern is disrupted – when they are called in to attend court. It became sadly a normality in their young lives to be stuck in a legal nightmare that puts their lives on hold.

Just a few months ago, Amara’s brother just graduated university, saying “Unfortunately, [poverty] pushed my siblings to drop out of school and face the harsh reality of life.” He enrolled, while Amara was detained in Malta’s prison. He graduated while Amara is still on trial.

While the state is trying to make a political example of the teenagers, who translated on the #ElHiblu1 ship, the supporting community around the three young men has grown consistently. In the past five years we’ve achieved major milestones advocating together for their freedom!

After a hearing in June 2021, the #ElHiblu3 picked up hundreds and hundreds of solidarity letters that came via the @amnesty #w4r campaign. Letters arrived from France, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Spain, the UK, and elsewhere.

Many individuals and groups declared their support. Among them Malta’s Bishop #Scicluna
twitter.com/BishopScicluna…

Just recently, Father Dionysius Mintoff, founder of the #PeaceLab in Ħal Far, started attending the #ElHiblu hearings in the Courts of Valletta in Malta.

In 2022, we were beyond grateful to have met the Pope in person and have the @Pontifex on our side in the struggle for justice and freedom!

We went to Brussels on several occasions to speak about the case on a European level with @picum_ngo and supporting MEPs.
Just recently, @engerer and plenty supporters were demanding to #DropTheCharges against the #ElHiblu3 in front of the @Europarl_EN once again.