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Amnesty Says Malta Using 'Illegal Tactics' Against Migrants

Agence France-Presse

   VALLETTA, MALTA - Amnesty International condemned Malta on Tuesday for
   using what it described as "illegal tactics" in the Mediterranean
   against immigrants making the dangerous crossing from North Africa.

   The approach taken by the Maltese government might have led to
   avoidable deaths, it argued, in a report that alleged a string of human
   rights abuses against illegal immigrants.

   Amnesty's report was released hours after U.N. rights agencies on
   Monday called on Malta and the European Union to end the latest
   humanitarian crisis on board a cargo ship off the Maltese coast.

   "The Maltese government has resorted to dangerous and illegal measures
   for dealing with the arrivals of refugees and migrants at sea," Amnesty
   said.

   "This escalation of tactics included arranging unlawful pushbacks to
   Libya, diverting boats towards Italy rather than rescuing people in
   distress and illegally detaining hundreds of people in ill-equipped
   ferries off Malta's waters," Amnesty said.

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