Verontwaardiging over Malta's plan om asielzoekers uit te zetten (en)

BRUSSELS - The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg has blocked Malta from a "push-back" of Somalian asylum seekers.

It issued the injunction on Tuesday (9 July) amid advanced plans by authorities to put 45 of the would-be refugees under police guard on flights to Mitiga in Libya.

They were part of a group of 102 men, women and infants picked up by the Maltese coastguard earlier the same day after crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

The Maltese coastguard last week rescued 291 people in similar circumstances.

It said on Tuesday that two more boat-fulls of people are on their way, one of them carrying 68 people, including a woman who gave birth on board an who needs medical attention.

The ECHR took the step after Maltese NGOs filed a complaint.

It came after a strong statement by the European Commission earlier the same day failed to make an impact.

Home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom i had told Malta it risks violating both EU and international law on "non-refoulement" if it did not give people the chance to file asylum requests and did not give their applications due consideration.

"The European Commission will use all the tools at its disposal to make sure member states fully respect their obligations in this regard. We also stand ready to increase our support to Malta if it should face growing migratory pressure," she said.

For his part, the country's centre-left Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat i, defended his actions in parliament.

He said he was acting in the national interest and that EU institutions had ignored his previous appeals for help.

"The [EU] commission … said it was ready to discuss offering Malta more assistance as news came in that we were considering all options. I'd say that this was a concrete example that our position has reaped the necessary results," he said, according to the Maltatoday news agency.

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil i said Muscat's actions were "objectionable morally, legally and politically" and accused him of "tarnishing our reputation in Europe."

According to the US-based NGO Human Rights Watch, migrants in Libya risk forced labour and police brutality.

Somalian nationals are also entitled to protection because their country is in a state of civil war.

In elated events, the Greek coastguard on Wednesday rescued over 130 people, 38 of whom are children, of Afghan and Syrian origin, after their boat began to sink near the Greek island of Crete.