Foreigner denied bail awarded damages

A Constitutional Court has ordered the Commissioner of Police to pay a man charged with cocaine trafficking, €1,000 in pecuniary damages for breaching his right to liberty.

Judge Mark Chetcuti said the rights of Nelson Arias, 33, a Dominican national resident in the Netherlands, had been breached when he was denied bail and given an uninterrupted detention.

The court condemned the slow pace with which evidence had been brought forward, and more importantly stated that a lack of connection with the country can no longer be used as a justification to deny bail.

Judge Chetcuti ordered the magistrates' court to continue proceedings without further delay, after previous sittings were suspended due to a lack of interpreter.

Arias was charged along with a Maltese man and two other foreign nationals in 2008, but pleaded not guilty to forming part of a drugs ring conspiring to import cocaine.

The 29-year-old Maltese taxi driver asked the court to ban the publication of his name, claiming he feared for the safety of his family since he was helping the police in their investigation. His request was upheld but his plea for bail was denied.

Arias was remanded in custody after Police Inspector Johann Fenech pointed out that the man lived in a holiday residence and was being "sustained" by a criminal.

Dumbuya Almani, 31, from the Ivory Coast was remanded in custody for fear of evidence being tampered with, as was Zeba Moussa, a 32-year-old from Burkina Faso.

Lawyer Mark Busuttil appeared for Arias.