Government orders inquiry

The government yesterday appoin-ted a retired judge to look into allegations of police beating a man and then throwing him off the bastions as the family released fresh details and a video showing the deceased explaining what he went through.

Contained but clearly broken by their ordeal, Mr Azzopardi's father, Joe, and brother, Reno, addressed a press conference in the afternoon, called by Maltatoday, which broke the story on Sunday.

In the video recording, the victim, seen wearing a mask while in intensive care, can be heard saying he was badly beaten.

Both the Prime Minister and the Justice Minister on Sunday said they preferred to await the outcome of a magisterial inquiry into the man's death before ordering an investigation to probe the allegations that Mr Azzopardi was beaten by officers and then thrown off the bastions at the back of the police headquarters in Floriana.

However, shortly before the Azzopardis gave their press conference, the government said that the Home Affairs Ministry had appointed Judge Albert Manchè to look into the allegations.

The inquiry will examine police actions from the moment Mr Azzopardi was arrested up to his death and evaluate whether there was police negligence or abuse of power.

Mr Azzopardi, 38, of Fgura, was called in for questioning at the police headquarters in Floriana on April 8, in connection with allegations of a familial nature.

A day after Mr Azzopardi was called in for questioning, the police said that a man was in critical condition after he escaped from custody and jumped from a height. The next day they said he was still critical but no announcement was made when he died on April 22, as usually happens.

Reno Azzopardi said that when he was called in by the police on April 9 to be informed about what had happened to his brother, Police Inspector Louise Cassar, "in a trembling voice", told him that his brother had fallen off the bastions after he escaped police custody, "hurting a policeman" in the process. The police never said anything about a policeman having been injured in the incident.

What the police inspector is reported to have said tallies with the version of facts given by the victim, who admitted that he had retaliated against one of the interrogators who were allegedly beating and taunting him in the depot lock-up.

Mr Azzopardi, described as a burly man weighing 120 kilos, is said to have admitted that he charged at one of the police officers crushing him against the lock-up's metal door. He was then allegedly attacked by an officer, possibly trained in martial arts, who flung a side kick, breaking four ribs and puncturing his lung. The victim told family members he lost consciousness and only fully came to his senses 13 days later in hospital.

"I am not seeking vendettas," the victim's brother said. "As you can see we are very calm... I have two little kids and a wife. We are risking a lot but I don't want my children to grow up in a country where these things are suppressed. This happened to us but it could have happened to anyone... The truth has to come out, whatever the outcome."

He said it took the inquiring magistrate four days before he went to the hospital to hear his brother's testimony. This took place after the family lawyer, Raphael Fenech Adami - whom the deceased also spoke to on the matter - informed the magistrate about the serious allegations being made.

The family contacted canvassers of government politicians and were told that the Prime Minister and the Home Affairs Minister would see to it that the magistrate would hear the evidence as soon as possible. But no action was taken for four whole days.

On this point, the Prime Minister denied having had any knowledge of the case before last Saturday.

Magistrate Anthony Vella eventually took Mr Azzopardi's testimony on Tuesday, April 22, a day before Nicholas Azzopardi died. According to the family, the session was not tape-recorded.

Reno Azzopardi said the magistrate interviewed him straight after interviewing his brother. The magistrate pointed out that the two were not saying the same things and that the deceased had been unable to recall certain dates. "I said to him: Mr Magistrate, I don't even remember what I ate yesterday if I don't take note of it let alone a person who has been in coma for two weeks at the ITU. He said there was so much confusion they didn't even bother to record him. I was shocked."

Both the father and the victim's brother insisted that what they were after was that the truth would come out as soon as possible. They complained that, although the cause of death (reportedly thrombosis) was leaked to PBS, they were still not privy to it officially.

Officially, the police insisted they would not comment on the case before the magisterial inquiry is over.

However, police sources said the deceased's claims that he was beaten when he entered the lock-up for questioning are very hard to digest because circumstances show otherwise.

For example, the sources added, there are records to prove that while in police custody Mr Azzopardi was admitted to hospital twice between Tuesday night and the early hours of Wednesday morning complaining of chest pains. He was admitted the first time at about 9 p.m. and discharged at 3 a.m. and then taken back again at 4 a.m., being released about three hours later.

"It is very common that when questioned by the police people become anxious and some complain of chest pains. The police will never take the responsibility of deciding on a person's health and they usually call a GP from a nearby polyclinic. When the doctor is out doing the rounds, the police have no choice but to drive the person to hospital," the sources said.

"This is what happened in the case of Nicholas Azzopardi and had there been any bruises or broken ribs and a punctured lung, as is being alleged, the hospital staff would have obviously noticed. However, nothing was reported as untoward," the sources added.

The situation progressed "normally" on Wednesday morning and in the evening, before 6, the police needed to search Mr Azzopardi's car, which was parked close by.

The sources said that, accompanied by a police officer, Mr Azzopardi was crossing what is known as the CID yard to a separate section of the headquarters when he took off, clambered up a wall and jumped some three storeys down to the grounds of a school situated behind the police depot.

The sources said that what was vital in this investigation is the CCTV footage, which clearly records Mr Azzopardi walking normally - no signs of injuries or broken ribs - before moving towards the wall.

On the CCTV evidence, however, the deceased's father was adamant: "I find it very difficult to believe that he was left walking about in the yard". He was reacting to what was reported by PBS that Mr Azzopardi was in the yard waiting for his car to be inspected.

The results of the post mortem, which have not been released yet, show that the bruises and injuries were not compatible with a beating but with a fall, the sources added.

The deceased's family are not ruling out the possibility of exhuming the body to hold a fresh autopsy should the results not convince them.