A 28-year-old man has been jailed for six months after admitting to attempting to leave Malta with an expired and forged travel document.
Mohamed Hassene Temimi, 28 from Tunisia and who has no fixed address in Malta, was sentenced to six months in prison following his guilty plea.
The incident occurred on 10 July 2025, when Temimi presented the document at Malta International Airport’s check-in desk. Immigration officers immediately noticed irregularities and stopped him from boarding.
It later emerged that the same document had previously been flagged by French authorities when Temimi tried to use it abroad. He was charged with possessing a passport he knew to be falsified, giving false information to immigration officials, being in possession of a travel document without proper authorisation, and knowingly making use of a falsified public document.
Although Temimi had initially pleaded not guilty, he filed an unconditional admission on 29 July after being given time to consult his lawyer and reflect on the consequences.
During sentencing, the magistrate stressed that despite the accused’s clean criminal record and admission, the case remained a serious offence that has become increasingly common and undermines the country’s security.
The court noted that Malta has a duty to safeguard its internal security and maintain a solid reputation within the EU, particularly with regard to border controls. While it imposed the minimum custodial sentence available, the magistrate said there was no scope for suspension or conversion into another sanction.
The time Temimi had already spent in preventive custody will be deducted from his sentence. The court also turned down a prosecution request to order him to pay for the appointment of experts, noting that no experts had actually been engaged in the case.
Inspector Lara Butters led the prosecution.
Lawyers Franco Debono and Adreana Zammit assisted the accused.
Magistrate Monica Vella presided over the case.