Court denies Jamie Vella bail request

The Criminal Court has denied requests for bail filed by one of the men indicted over charges of procuring the bomb which killed journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Jamie Vella, who stands accused together with Tal-Maksar brothers Adrian and Robert Agius, as well as George Degiorgio, had filed an application to the Criminal Court, requesting bail on 4 November.

The court yesterday heard lawyers for Vella argue that the prosecution had relied on the evidence provided by Vince Muscat to justify the man's continued arrest. They also argued that the accused was a "most normal being who has nothing to do with this. He's here just because Vince Muscat named him,"

In a decree handed down today, Mr Justice Giovanni Grixti, presiding in the Criminal Court, said that he had examined the application in the light of copious jurisprudence, both upholding and denying such requests.

The judge observed that the seriousness of the charges did not mean that a person accused should be remanded in preventive custody indefinitely. "That said. However, it is crucial in the determination of such requests that a balance is struck between the many factors which surround preventive custody, amongst them the sacrosanct right to liberty and the rights of society as well as that of the accused himself to have a just and serene process, according to the rule of fair hearing that should lead to a just outcome."

Taking into consideration all these factors, and having heard the submissions by the Attorney General in this regard, the court said that the possibility of escape now that the accused knew what he was being charged with was "more real" and accompanied by a fear of him tampering with evidence.

Judging the facts of the case was an exercise that would be carried out by another court, said the judge. "The task of this court with regards to the application in question is…to decide whether the holding of the accused in preventive custody is still justified. And after due analysis, taking into consideration the balance and proportionality mentioned above, decides that the serious nature of the accusations taken together with the fear of tampering with evidence and that of escape at this stage justifies that the arrest be continued."

Lawyers Alfred Abela and Rene Darmanin are appearing for Vella.

Lawyer George Camilleri represented the Office of the Attorney General.