Two men charged over Swieqi hammer attack

Two men have been charged over a hammer attack on a man in Swieqi, which was allegedly preceded by an argument over money for a vacuum cleaner.

Prosecutor Nicole Sladden and Inspector Michael Vella, arraigned 33-year-old Nebojsa Glavnik and 32-year-old Filip Bakocevic Alissa, both of whom are from Serbia and who reside together in Swieqi, before magistrate Abigail Critien on Tuesday afternoon.

Glavnik told the court that he worked as a part-time waiter, barman and occasional water delivery driver. Bakocevic said he worked as a cleaner. Both men pleaded not guilty.

In a press statement issued earlier on Tuesday, the police said that officers had been dispatched to Triq il-Modd in Swieqi in response to a call for assistance at around 11:30pm on Sunday, August 4.

At the scene, they were told that an argument had broken out between two Ukrainian men and two Serbs, that a hammer had allegedly been used and that the Serbs had fled the scene. An ambulance had taken the Ukrainians to hospital where one of them, a 27-year-old man, was found to be grievously injured. The other man’s injuries were classified as slight.

The alleged assailants were arrested at a residence in Swieqi, from which the police seized a number of items as evidence.

Lawyers Shazoo Ghaznavi and Jessica Formosa assisted the two defendants.

After establishing who had arrested the men and the time at which the arrests had taken place, Ghaznavi did not contest the validity of the arrest.

It is understood that the fight was about a dispute over money for the purchase of a vacuum cleaner, although this did not emerge in court.
The defence requested that the defendants be released from arrest, which was objected to by the prosecution. Sladden argued that the proceedings were still at a very early stage and that further witnesses had yet to testify. There was a “real risk and a real fear” that if given bail, the evidence would be lost or tampered with, argued the prosecutor.

In view of the objections, Ghaznavi gave the defence’s account of what had led to the incident. “The two accused were at their residence. The alleged victims had been told not to come there. The alleged victims attacked the accused outside their house.

The accused have injuries themselves and have been living in Malta for a substantial amount of time. Nebosa has been here for seven years and has a clean conduct sheet. They told the police everything about the incident in the statement. The fight stopped because the defendants said ‘enough’ and went up to their apartment. 

“They had gone to calm the situation down, telling the other men ‘go away, we will talk tomorrow when you are not drunk.’”

The accused did not have any interest or reason to approach the alleged victims, argued the lawyer. Neither was there any indication as to how or why they could tamper with the evidence. He argued that bail is the norm and incarceration the exception. ‘There is no such thing as too early, as soon as you’re locked up, as soon as you’re arraigned within those 48 hours, you can request bail.”

“I cannot legally appreciate the reason for which these people can be refused bail.” Fear that they approach the victims? Approach for what? It was the victims who came to beat them up”

The Court interjected, pointing out that the argument dealt with the merits of the case, which would be handled at a later stage.

“[It is unfair] To deprive them of their liberty because [the alleged victims] live in Swieqi,” argued the lawyer. “Sliema, Ibraġ…distances in Malta are all relatively short.”

The court, after hearing submissions by both parties, acceded to the request for bail.

But before that, the Court first issued protection orders in favour of the two alleged victims, ordering the defendants not to communicate with the alleged victims in any way. “It is as if they do not exist.”

Bakocevic told the court that he had lost a pouch with his passport and ID cards “at the Beerfest.” “So you have absolutely nothing?” I have to contact my embassy.”

Because the documents had only allegedly been lost recently, the court ordered, as part of his bail conditions, that as soon as a new residence permit and passport are issued, they are to be immediately filed in the acts of the proceedings.

Besides the protection order. Each defendant’s compliance with their bail restrictions was secured by a €2,000 deposit and a €3,000 personal guarantee.