VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Activists from the Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM) interrupted a speech by junior equality minister Rebecca Buttigieg on Thursday to protest the detention of one of their members. Holding placards reading “Celebrating Pride while queer people are in detention” and “No Pride without liberation for all of us”, protesters demanded the release of Angoua Abdu, who was apprehended last week and is currently held at the Safi detention centre.
MGRM said Abdu, an asylum seeker and active campaigner with the movement, was detained after his asylum application was rejected. He was appealing the decision on the grounds of his sexual orientation. In a statement, the group described Abdu’s detention, coinciding with Pride events and the opening of the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics (SOGIGESC) conference, as “shameful.”
The activists argued that Abdu’s confinement puts him at risk of harassment, homophobia, and violence, stressing that Pride cannot be fully celebrated while members of the community remain vulnerable. “Pride is about resilience, equality, and visibility,” MGRM said. “But we cannot celebrate while one of us is left behind.” It is understood that Buttigieg later spoke with the activists following the protest. The group reiterated its demand for Abdu’s safety and release, declaring: “No one is free until all of us are free.”
– photo IPA Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
