An Amnesty International representative yesterday took the witness stand in the case against a Maltese man wanted in the US on child molestation charges and exhibited a report that spoke about various incidents of torture in various US prisons.
AI's Lara Bezzina said the report did not pinpoint specific prisons or institutions where torture was reported.
She was testifying in the constitutional proceedings initiated by Lewis Muscat, 56, who is wanted in California on charges of defiling a girl when she was between nine and 11 years old.
On August 4, the Magistrates' Court ruled in favour of his extradition to the US.
Mr Muscat appealed asking that his case be referred to a court of constitutional jurisdiction and argued that his rights to a fair hearing and to privacy would be violated by the extradition.
He also claimed that his fundamental human rights would be violated if the Maltese courts approved his extradition to California because he would be abused and ill treated while in prison there.
During a court sitting last week, the Attorney General presented a declaration signed by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stating that, if Mr Muscat was extradited and found guilty, he would not be subject to cruelty while in the California state prison.
Mr Justice Geoffrey Valenzia, presiding over the constitutional case, gave Mr Muscat's lawyer until yesterday to present his evidence.
Mr Muscat's lawyer Chris Soler yesterday called Ms Bezzina to the stand and she explained that she had been asked by the defence to provide information about the situation in US prisons.
She contacted AI's international secretariat who had supplied her with a report that looked into the situation in the US. The report pointed out "various occurrences of torture in various US prisons, including California".
The court also heard David Busuttil, who chairs the working committee of the Malta Association of Human Rights. He too presented a report compiled by the Committee Against Torture that was published in July this year. The report reiterated the committee's concerns over the absence of a federal crime of torture in the US.
"Torture as such is not a federal crime in the USA," Mr Busuttil said. He added that, according to the Californian penal code, crimes connected with torture were not severely punished as they were considered a misdemeanour.
Under cross examination, both Ms Bezzina and Mr Busuttil, said that the reports they presented did not pinpoint any particular prison or institution where torture was reported.
The Attorney General's office was represented by lawyers Donatella Frendo Dimech and Cynthia Scerri Debono.