Young tourist held after Paceville bottle attack

A French tourist has appeared in court after he allegedly slashed a Maltese man with a broken bottle for bumping into him.

Yannis Meherzi, 24, from Lyon told the police he was drunk at the time of the altercation, which is thought to have been triggered by the victim bumping shoulders with the accused on St. Rita steps in Paceville yesterday.

Meherzi was arraigned by Inspector Matthew Spagnol on charges of grievous bodily harm and being drunk and disorderly in a public place.

Meherzi, a student, is understood to have punched the victim, before smashing a bottle and striking him with it. The incident took place on day three of Meherzi’s two-week holiday in Malta. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and requested bail.

Lawyer Victor Bugeja, legal aid to the accused, argued that the requisites for withholding bail did not exist, but the court upheld the prosecution’s arguments on the issue after seeing the gravity of the charges and the fact that no civilian witnesses had testified as well as the fact that the accused had no ties to Malta.

Bail was refused.

Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi appeared parte civile for the injured man.