SERA Preventing radicalisation in prisons -

P a g e | 18 ERASMUS+ N° 580247-EPP-1-2016-1-FR-EPPKA3-IPI-SOC-IN MALTA Terrorism hasn’t represented a matter of major concern for Maltese policy-makers, due to the island’s comparatively low terrorist threat. In fact, during the SERA Symposium held in June 2017, Inspector Omar Zammit of the Malta Counter-terrorism Unit, stated that no reports of radicalisation or of foreign fighters have been made so far (O. Zammit, SERA Symposium, 13 June 2017). The only recent incident worthy of mention, is the hijack of a Libyan domestic flight in December 2016 by two men loyal to the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. In this instance, passengers and crew were held hostage for several hours at Malta International Airport, and freed shortly after the surrender of the two hijackers (Graham Harrison, 2016) Since 2014, the Malta Counter-terrorism Unit of the Police, a small unit within the Police Security Unit, has been responsible for preventing and responding to terrorist threats. The Unit shares intelligence with relevant national and foreign entities and leads investigations related to terrorism incidents. Police officers serving in this Unit regularly attend RAN trainings and courses organised by the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law O. Zammit, SERA Symposium, 13 June 2017). PRISONS Malta is equipped with one prison, the Corradino Correctional facility, located in the town of Paola. Although there are currently no programmes specifically targeted at preventing radicalisation, the prison is equipped with an Educational Unit, running a variety of academic and trade-based courses and activities for inmates. As regards training on radicalisation for prison staff, the latter regularly participates in trainings organised by RAN.