Man on trial for human trafficking tells jurors he was ‘just another passenger’

A man on trial over human trafficking charges told jurors yesterday that he was “just another passenger” and that other people on the packed boat mistook him for one of the organisers.

Ethiopian Hadish Abayu, 58, is pleading not guilty to charges of people smuggling and complicity in the trafficking of persons. He is believed to be one of the masterminds behind the 2005 trip, during which 181 people left Libya in the direction of Italy but landed in Malta.

The accused took the witness stand yesterday afternoon after the prosecution had declared that it had exhausted its testimony.

He started off by thanking the Maltese authorities and expressing the wish that the same democratic system be introduced to his home country of Ethiopia.

He explained how he moved to Sudan for 10 years before travelling to Libya in 2003. Mr Abayu said his wife and four children already lived in Malta in 2005, having left on an earlier trip.

“Two times I paid to come to Europe. They (the organisers) take our money and run away,” he told jurors. “We were 187 people waiting on the coast (of Libya). We had to pay money before being allowed on board the boat. I was a passenger like the others. The Libyan men split us in three groups in order to save time to pay the money.”

The witness continued. “Since I speak Arabic and I was older than the others, Osman (the Libyan organiser) selected me to collect the money for one of these groups – 55 people. I collected $46,000 dollars,” he said, adding that this money included his own $1,000 payment. “I gave money to Osman in front of everyone.”

Mr Abayu said the party was discovered by a police patrol and six people were arrested. The others, him included, ran away.

“We were supposed to go to Italy but when we were close to Malta the captain said there was a problem with the motor and he decided to change course. When we arrived in Malta some people started asking questions about the six who had been arrested in Libya and the money they had paid. They reported me to the police because they had seen me collect the money from them. I told the police then what I am telling you now. When I collected the money for Osman in Libya I did not realise that I was creating problems for myself.”

He told jurors that he was not a people smuggler, arguing that with the kind of money that traffickers make he would have stayed in Libya, not risked his life at sea. He also claimed that some of those who had reported him to the police have since realised their mistake and apologised to him.

At one point the witness said he was living a normal life in Switzerland. Lawyer Vincienne Vella, from the Office of the Attorney General, took exception to this, pointing out that the man had been on the run for 10 years and had been brought to Malta on the strength of an international arrest warrant. The jurors were sent out of the courtroom prior to this exchange, and Madam Justice Edwina Grima pointed out that this fact was not relevant to the case.

Earlier, the prosecution read out statements given by some of the migrants who had paid for the trip.

Eritrean Mabrahatom Brahi Tahle had recounted how he paid $700 dollars to the accused with the intention of going to Italy. He had also paid some $300 to another man. The accused was also collecting money from other passengers.

The witness said he had first met the accused in Libya. “He told me to pay him and leave. I wanted to go to Italy and I paid Hadish in cash.” Mr Tahle said other men – Libyans – were involved in the organisation of the trip.

The statement of another Eritrean migrant, Wildeberem Talizgi, was read out. He and his brother had given Hadish $2,400. His brother was told that, because the boat was full, he would have to stay in Libya until another trip was organised.

Yosef Zoru, another of the 180 passengers, said he had paid $1,000 directly to Hadish. The plan was to go to Italy but, because of the difficult situation they found themselves in, the boat ended up in Malta.

The prosecution has now exhausted its list of witnesses and the defence will now take over.

Lawyer Vincienne Vella from the Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting. Lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace is appearing for the accused.