• The visited prisoner
is usually a sentenced person. This means that the courts
would have already reviewed the case, and decided on the sentence.
A sentenced person, in fact, is one who is already undergoing
a court sentence of imprisonment.
• The visited prisoner
may either be Maltese or, more probably, a foreigner. The
great majority of foreign prisoners in Malta are Arabs and
Muslims.
• The visited prisoner
may either be a man or a woman. In Malta, the number of male
prisoners exceeds by far the number of female prisoners.
• Visits to a prisoner
are generally held once a week.
• The duration of
each visit is usually 45 minutes.
• The visit shall
take place either in the morning—beginning at 9.00 am,
9.45 am, or 10.30 am—or in the afternoon—beginning
at 2.00 pm, 2.45 pm, or 3.30 pm. This depends on your convenience.
• All visits are
held at the Corradino Correctional Facility at Paola. If you
do not know where visits are held, take a look at the geographic
map of the site by clicking here.
• The visit takes
place in a small hall at which prisoners and visitors sit
around a table.
• The visit takes
place in a relaxed and safe atmosphere. However, prison officers
are always present just the same.
• Before entering
the visiting hall you shall be asked to leave all personal
belongings in a security box, and submitted to a light search.
You can carry nothing into the visiting hall (maybe except
a packet of cigarettes and a lighter).
• You will need
you Identity Card (I.D.) to identify yourself before entering
the visiting hall.
• First-time visitors
may find it rather awkward at the beginning to have a relaxed
conversation with a prisoner. This is perfectly normal. The
second and third visits will be more easy.