Jamie Vella files 10th bail request, as defence lawyers allege 'missing volumes' of evidence

A lawyer representing accused murderer Jamie Vella has railed against the Attorney General, insinuating that “a group of people who have an interest” in the case were forcing the AG’s hand over bail and withholding evidence.

The claim was made on Friday as the Madam Justice Edwina Grima dealt with pre-trial pleas in criminal proceedings against Vella, George Degiorgio and the tal-Maksar brothers Adrian and Robert Agius.

The judge noted that the defence had recently filed an application requesting a copy of testimony given by Melvin Theuma and Vince Muscat, in order to exhibit them in separate civil proceedings.

Lawyer Alfred Abela, assisting the Agius brothers, told the court that in civil proceedings related to the murders, Police Superintendent Keith Arnaud had testified that Vince Muscat had given evidence before an inquiry led by magistrate (now judge) Neville Camilleri. The lawyer claimed it was not in the case file, however.

“We have 25 volumes of the inquiry and the testimony of Vincent Muscat is not there. I am assuming that there are further volumes that we don’t have.”

The judge pointed out that Muscat did not testify in the case against Alfred and George Degiorgio and that a copy of his prior testimony to the inquiry had been exhibited in those proceedings.

But Abela told the court that the inquiring magistrate was refusing to provide him with a copy because the inquiry was still ongoing. “We are being deprived of evidence that under the criminal code the prosecution should have exhibited in total.”

The inquiry had been reopened, explained the judge.

Prosecutors Godwin Cini and Anthony Vella argued that the request had no basis in law. “If the inquiry is still open, it can’t be requested,” said Cini. “Let’s adjourn the case sine die until the AG decides it’s comfortable, then,” Abela hit back, accusing the AG of being selective.

The judge dictated a note ordering that the defendants are to have access to all the acts of the inquiry into the Caruana Galizia murder to date, before the jury begins.

Cini insisted that the prosecution was duty bound to present all evidence in favour and against the accused. “If there are any missing volumes, we want to exhibit them, but there are no legal grounds for us to request the acts of the inquiry. Only the inquiring magistrate can declare the inquiry closed.”

“The law requires the AG to make the request to close the inquiry,” replied the defence.

“Open or closed, what is certain is that for the purposes of clarity and peace of mind … at this stage we are in agreement that there is an open inquiry and that these men cannot be deprived of their rights,” lawyer Ishmael Psaila, who is assisting Jamie Vella, told the judge.

The judge upheld the request and ordered the registrar of the Criminal Court to file a request to the inquiring magistrate for permission to exhibit copies of the inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, “in their entirety.” She also ordered the registrar to exhibit transcripts of the testimonies given by Vincent Muscat and Melvin Theuma in the case against Alfred and George Degiorgio, “including every declaration or deposition exhibited in those acts, given by those witnesses in the context of the magisterial inquiry.”

A copy of the depositions by Vincent Muscat and Melvin Theuma, made during the proceedings against Yorgen Fenech and during the civil proceedings against Fenech, filed by the Caruana Galizia family were also ordered to be exhibited.

The court further instructed the Registrar to exhibit, within one week, a list of pending and concluded criminal cases involving Vincent Muscat.

Jamie Vella makes 10th bail request

Madam justice Grima is to issue a decree in chambers after hearing submissions on the latest bail request filed by Jamie Vella - his tenth.

Vella has spent the last three and a half years in preventive custody, accused, as an alleged associate of the Ta’ Maksar brothers Robert and Adrian Agius, of involvement in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in October 2017, besides also being charged, alongside George Degiorgio and Adrian Agius, of involvement in the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop, who was gunned down inside a Birkirkara garage complex in October 2015.

His lawyer, Ishmael Psaila, railed against the Attorney General’s consistent opposition to bail, after noting the reply, objecting to his latest application.

“His last request was filed nearly nine months ago, and yet the AG is still objecting due to public disorder and the gravity of the crime. The charge is what it is and will remain to be what it is, but the AG is forgetting the presumption of innocence.”

He asked the prosecution to explain what made this case different to any other, and suggested that it was because of the identity of the murder victim. “It is,who the parte civile is. Such cases have been heard and will continue to be heard,” said the lawyer, replying to his own question.

Psaila said the stage where the AG could claim there was a prospect of more people being charged was over now. “To date, all we know is that the Commissioner of Police held a press conference to reassure the nation and said that the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia had been solved.”

The lawyer added that after Jamie Vella was first questioned, he had been granted police bail, which was repeatedly renewed and that Vella had even been allowed to travel.

“Jamie Vella, had he wanted to attempt to manoeuvre or tamper with evidence or abscond, had all the time in the world to do so. Now on the eve of an unprecedented trial, the AG continues to object to bail and tell us that it is not the right stage to request it.”

“This time he’s citing the risk of public disorder as a ground. Unlike other cases, in this case, whatever we say, there is a group of people out there who have an interest in its outcome. This is why the AG is constrained to continuously object to bail. This is nothing but a total injustice,” concluded the defence lawyer.

In his counter arguments Cini rebutted the defence’s claims, stressing that “there is a strong element of organised crime,” in the two murders. AG had cited several ECHR judgments which justified continued detention in organised crime cases.

There are also other elements in play, he said. “Public order is not something we made up,” said the lawyer, reading from a court decree on a constitutional reference which described the Caruana Galizia murder as having ‘not only shaken Malta but also countries, abroad’.”

Now was not the time to release defendants, said the prosecutor, pointing out that the final pre-trial stages are almost over and the trial itself is approaching. “We must see it through.”

Judge Grima announced that she will be issuing a decree on the issue from chambers, and adjourned the sitting to July.