Interpretation muddle leaves Paceville murder hearing postponed

An interpretation muddle in the Paceville murder court case meant Thursday’s hearing had to be postponed since no one was available to interpret from Romanian to Maltese.

Joseff Rivas, a suspected member of a Romanian organized crime ring, died at Mater Dei Hospital last December after he was stabbed during a Paceville brawl.

Ilie Constantin, Ionut Iulian Tanase, and Dan-Andrei Tanase are the three Romanian men who have been charged with his murder. They pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The case against the three accused was set to continue on Thursday, with several policemen and a hospital worker expected to testify.

However, the hearing could not take place on Thursday because an interpreter was not available.

The usual interpreter on the case was abroad, while the prosecution and defence initially agreed on a replacement interpreter.

However, the defence had reservations on the assigned interpreter, and advised them not to attend the hearing without advising the prosecution.

Magistrate Nadine Lia, who is presiding over the case, was furious with the defence over this. “The accused is being denied their right to understand and follow proceedings,” she said.

“The case cannot be heard because the accused cannot even understand what is happening right now!” she said.

Lawyer Darlene Grima, representing the Attorney General’s office, said that the prosecution will not tolerate this behaviour.

The magistrate threatened to send the acts of the compilation of evidence to the Attorney General, but the defence strongly rejected.

Franco Debono, one of the defence lawyers, suggested that the case be heard on another day and insisted that the state be equipped with more interpreters for cases like this.

The hearing was deferred to 2 February at 11am.