A constitutional court has annulled a drug trafficking conviction and awarded compensation to a man who was not told by police investigators that his statement might be used against him in court.
Dominic Camilleri, 35, was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking in February 2004. He had given two statements, one on 13 February and a second on 24 February.
According to his lawyers, Mr Camilleri had given highly incriminating answers without warning that anything he said might be used against him, as in fact happened. He was also not given the right to a lawyer.He was charged with drug trafficking in 2008 and was found guilty in 2014.
A court had sentenced him to 18 months in prison and fined him €950. Mr Camilleri had filed an appeal, which is still pending.His lawyers said the only evidence leading to his conviction were the two statements, which were in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. They said that, as a result, the conviction and sentence were illegal.
The Attorney General argued that the outcome of the appeal was still pending. Mr Camilleri was free to make his case before the Appeals Court and could not, as of yet, declare that his right to a fair hearing was breached.Mr Camilleri said he was a drug dependent person and was suffering from withdrawal symptoms when he was interrogated. Back then he was 22.
He said he had cooperated and signed the statements because he wanted to get the whole thing over and done with as quickly as possible. He also said he was scared and the attitude shown by the police further added to this.
The interrogating officers shouted at him, insulted him and banged their fists on the desk, he said, but this never made it into the police statement, he said.Police Inspector Josric Mifsud said Mr Camilleri had been told that, should he help the police, the police would in turn help him and press for a more lenient sentence. The Inspector denied that the police had scared Mr Camilleri and insisted that the youth had admitted to drug possession.
The court, presided over by Mr Justice Joseph Zammit McKeon, declared that Mr Camilleri's rights had been breached and declared the statements as null. The court also declared the 2014 judgement as null and ordered the AG to pay Mr Camilleri €1,000 in compensation. It also ordered a retrial.
Lawyers Jason Azzopardi, Kris Busietta and Julian Farrugia represented Mr Camilleri.
from The Malta Independent http://ift.tt/2mpiv4I
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