One of four men charged with aiding and abetting the bribery of two judges yesterday called on the Criminal Court to grant him bail, saying its failure to do so in the context of a favourable ruling given to another two co-defendants was discriminatory.

Joseph Zammit, better known as is-Sei, argued that the courts had the duty and the obligation to "reintegrate, reconstruct and reestablish the trust of the people in them" now that the judicial system had received a severe blow to their credibility.

He also questioned the reasoning which led the Magistrates' Court to grant Anthony Grech Sant and Pierre Camilleri bail as well as the two judges and claimed the former Chief Justice "had been granted bail despite the fact that he had tried to tamper with evidence".

Zammit, 57, is accused, with Mario Camilleri and his son Pierre, 40 and 20 respectively, and Grech Sant, 55, of trading in influence, aiding and abetting in the bribery of two judges and conspiring to commit a crime.

Zammit is also charged with defrauding Mario Camilleri and/or other people out of some Lm5,000 and a second count of trading in influence. Both are also charged with relapsing.

Dr Chris Cardona and Dr Chris Soler signed the application.