Man breached bail after travelling to Syria when court only allowed him to travel to Romania

Syrian man Hamid Saleh, 48, residing in Fgura has been charged with breaching bail conditions and orchestrating false medical certificates.

Saleh is currently awaiting a jury to be set over previous human trafficking charges.

The accused pleaded not guilty to all charges and requested bail. However, the prosecution strongly opposed the request and argued that he had repeatedly showed he could not be trusted to abide by court-imposed conditions.

The court heard how Saleh had filed multiple requests to travel abroad. Inspector Lydon Zammit explained in court that the accused had been permitted by the court to travel abroad to Romania on 13 July. However, investigations revealed that he left for Romania two days earlier, on 11 July and thus, did not adhere to permitted travel dates.

Apart from travelling earlier than authorised, he also travelled from Romania to Syria - something the court was not aware of.

The accused was supposed to return to Malta on 24 July but instead landed on 20 July. Upon his return, he was rearrested and police discovered two passports which confirmed his travel route. Moreover, he also got a new passport issued in his name, which was prohibited.

The fact that he travelled to Syria was also problematic. Syria was a country he had previously claimed he could not return to, due to risk to his life. This claim had formed the basis of his successful application for subsidiary protection.

Prosecutors accused him of effectively “laughing at the court’s conditions,” adding that his voluntary trip to Syria not only contradicted his earlier declarations but also raised serious doubts about his credibility and intentions.The prosecution also expressed fears that Saleh poses a flight risk, highlighting his apparent access to false or undeclared documentation, and questioned the real purpose of his visit to Syria.

 The defence argued that bail’s primary function is to ensure the accused appears in court when required, a condition Saleh had thus far met. They stressed that Saleh had left from Syria voluntarily, three days earlier than planned, and that this demonstrated his willingness to cooperate with legal proceedings. They also noted that for nearly two years, the man had abided by all previous court-imposed restrictions.

The defence further proposed a third-party guarantee from a family member and assured the court that Saleh was willing to comply with any conditions the court might set. They reminded the court that Saleh is a father of seven children and emphasised his ties to Malta.

Despite these assurances, the court was not persuaded. In light of his previous breach of bail conditions and the unexplained trip to Syria using an undeclared passport, the court concluded that the risk of absconding remained too high. Bail was ultimately denied.

Medical doctor charged with falsifying medical certificates

Since the man left the country on 11 July, the man had failed to sign the bail book at the Raħal Ġdid Police Station on 12 July. On 13 July, a medical certificate was presented to police by his son, Saleh Saleh, who told them that his father was unfit to report to the police station that day. The certificates were signed by medical doctor Raymond Fenech who was subsequently arrested at his clinic and pleaded not guilty in court.

His 22-year-old son, Saleh Saleh, was also arraigned for having delivered the certificate to the police station and for also breaching bail conditions. He plead guilty and was handed an 18-month-sentence, suspended for three years. Defence lawyer Nicholas Mifsud argued that that his client cooperated in full and thus, a suspended sentence should be appropriate. The prosecuting inspector agreed that the young man had acted with respect towards his father by taking the certificate to the police station and confirmed there was no need for the court to award punishment in its maximum.

The defence lawyers requested bail for medical doctor Raymond Fenech.

Doctor granted bail

Inspector Lydon Zammit objected in light of the charges despite the punishment prescribed in the law for the relevant charges being a fine.

 “The system was abused. It was mostly by the man who ordered his son to take a fake certificate to the police yes, but he is also part of the problem,” he argued.

Defence lawyer Franco Debono argued the case involved just a single certiificate and that it was most probably the fruit of a misunderstanding. “He is also 69 years of age and a medical professional which signifies an individual of certain maturity. There is absolutely no reason why the court would suspect that he would not comply with conditions,” Debono argued.

Reference to his clean criminal conduct was also made.

Thus, bail was granted against a €2,000 deposit and a €8,000 guarantee and a number of conditions such as signing the bail book twice weekly and a curfew from 9pm to 5am were imposed.  Upon request of Fenech, lawyer Debono asked the court to change the curfew to begin at 10pm, not 9pm.

“We might as well just remove all the conditions,” one of the inspectors snapped. His wife, who was present in the courtroom, also interrupted the hearing and said “he helps so many people”, and was ordered to remain quiet.

Defence lawyer Nicholas Mifsud appeared for Saleh Saleh.

Lawyer Matthew Xuereb appeared for Hamid Saleh while Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri represented Raymond Fenech.

The court was presided over by Magistrate Ann-Marie Thake. Inspectors Lydon Zammit and Karl Roberts prosecuted.