Former warden seeks higher compensation for police beatings
Former prison warden Anthony Mifsud today appealed from a judgment of the First Hall of the Civil Court over compensation he was given after having been beaten up at police headquarters in 1982, saying that the compensation was inadequate.
Mr Mifsud had been arrested in 1982 on suspicion of having been involved in the escape from prison of two prisoners. He was tortured in police headquarters, arraigned in court, kept under preventive arrest for three years, and then acquitted of all charges.
A court late last month awarded him compensation of €186,349.87 to be paid by former Police Superintendents Carmelo Bonello and Joseph Psaila, the Commissioner of Police and former police commissioner Dr Lawrence Pullicino. However Mr Mifsud said that given the gravity of the case and the delay in the court's decision, compensation of €1.16 million would be more appropriate.
The First Hall of the Civil Court had concluded that Mr Mifsud had been tortured while in police custody and that he had been unlawfully detained for more than twice the legal limit of 48 hours before arraignment.
Mr Mifsud said he had not been adequately compensated for these violations. Had he continued in his job as a prison warden or in any other job earning a minimum wage in the period between June 1982 and June of this year, he would have earned far more that the sum awarded to him by the first court. Furthermore, the delay in the court proceedings had also been prejudicial to him.
Mr Mifsud requested the Constitutional Court to increase the compensation to €1.16 million.
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In Discussion
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J Martinelli
Nov 11th 2008, 02:36
@ Kevin Bonnici - unfortunately you cannot. Such was Mintoff's policy at the time and there is very little you can do about it.
The only way you can get even is to educate your children and friends about your experiences so that when they come to vote in an election, they will be forewarned that one party which still has elements from the 70s and 80s, could very well relapse into those fearful tactics if elected!
With regard to Anthony Mifsud, his appeal makes a lot of sense, The amount awarded is totally inadequate and a recalculation is in order. He should be compensated for (1) Lost wages (2) Physical suffering (3) Psychological trauma (4) Permanent disability resulting from the beatings, (5) for damage to his reputation over the last twenty-six years and the suffering his family went through during and after his incarceration and, (6) all legal expenses incurred up to now and due to any future appeals..
Even the E1.16 million is grossly inadequate!
Corinne Vella
Nov 11th 2008, 00:04
Kevin Bonnici: This isn't the place to make such a request. It makes you sound like you're belittling Anthony Mifsud's experience.
lGalea
Nov 10th 2008, 20:50
Kevin Bonnici
How about getting compensation from the PN and Gonzipn governments for ruining everything that we had and made us again a colony, this time of the eu?
Ronnie Gauci
Nov 10th 2008, 20:46
@ Kevin Bonnici
With whom did the Nationalist Govt. fill the University after his 1987 electoral victory if from 1971 and 1987 we were all illiterates or going to crappy schools? With kindergarten children or one year olds?
Victor Muscat
Nov 10th 2008, 20:23
He should at least get 26 years' interest on 187,000 euros
J Micallef
Nov 10th 2008, 20:16
@Kevin Bonnici - What are you referring to??!! Why not thanking that same gov for the children allowance that your parents obtained and the free education that was offered !!
It is not the gov & Dom Mintoff 's fault if you were not interested in education.
victor vella
Nov 10th 2008, 20:14
Kevin I was a teenager like you and Mintoff ruined not only our education but also our lives, except that to be honest , having lived through the bad times we appreciate the good times more.But we had the well-being to make up for it, this poor bloke had his strength and his sanity taken away from him.Yes he deserves more and in my opinion the prescription clause should be done away with and these bullies prosecuted for such a crime.
Jeanne Calleja
Nov 10th 2008, 18:55
@Kevin Bonnici
Whoever was good enough in the early 80s, got whatever he wanted to get. I know 'cause I did.
laurence schembri
Nov 10th 2008, 18:06
@ Kevin Bonnici
No man on earth can ruin your education. Take off your blue tinted specs and you will know exactly what I mean.
What you are reaping today was given to you by none other than Dom Mintoff.
Michael Andrews
Nov 10th 2008, 18:04
I say pay the man.He deserves every single last cent of it in my opinion.
They ruined his life and €186,000 is pittance when you consider what he went through and what he has suffered.
Andrew Gatt
Nov 10th 2008, 18:02
Pay up! This man's spirit has been broken and he has been traumatised in the most vicious, unethical and violent way. I saw a shadow of a human being on TV. 1.16 million euros is cheap considering what he has suffered at the hands of these disgraced public officials.
philip pace
Nov 10th 2008, 18:01
To Mr.Kevin Bonnici,
What happened to Mr.Anthony Mifsud is a thing that no decent human being should ever experience.
Would have let yourself be beaten, tortured and left alone in such an unhumane state?
What does your loss of education have to do with this terrible ordeal?
Mark Anthony Portelli
Nov 10th 2008, 17:51
To Kevin Bonnici -
You can try but you will loose time and money ...
:)
Mark Anthony Portelli
Nov 10th 2008, 17:42
Sure, hopefully the majority of the sum owed to Mr Mifsud will come out from who made him suffer.
Also someone should have the "Courage" to say SORRY to Mr Mifsud.
J. Borg
Nov 10th 2008, 17:39
I suggest Mr. Mifsud should request FREE Water & Electricity service throughout his life.
He will be in a better position with that, rather than with €1.16 million in the bank
Noel Cutajar
Nov 10th 2008, 17:20
@Kevin Bonnici - in your case you are the only one to blame if you did not achieve anything in life. I was one of those teenagers in the Mintoff era, and what I am today is what I had achieved during that era. So please do not blame it on Mintoff and in this case you missed the bus completely. This has nothing to do with Education or Mintoff. But if you want to include politics in it, one of the person who was found responsible for the ill treatment was given a promotion during the 1987 PN government. So shall we blame it on Dom as well?
Keith Davis
Nov 10th 2008, 17:07
I think that this should have been calculated on a minimum wage from then to now. This should turn up in the region of 210k Eur, and that in my opinion would have been fair enough. Though its not very far from the 186k Eur that has been awarded. Asking for over a million I think now we are just trying to hit our lucky jackpot, and that is being greedy.
Peter Bonnici
Nov 10th 2008, 17:05
Mintoff got more compensation just because the power station spoilt the view from his balcony !!
Paul Pace
Nov 10th 2008, 17:04
"Mr Mifsud said he had not been adequately compensated for these violations. Had he continued in his job as a prison warden or in any other job earning a minimum wage in the period between June 1982 and June of this year, he would have earned far more that the sum awarded"
Calculations:-
Sum requested Eur 1.16 milion for period June 1982 to June 2008 equals 26 years.
Compensation per year equals Eur 44615.
Weekly equals Eur 858 equivalent to Lm 368.33.
Is this the average minimum wage for the past 26 years?
D. Caruana
Nov 10th 2008, 17:04
Ruin your education Mr Bonnici..why dont you say that if it wasnt for him your chances of getting into university or a decent education at all would have been zilch...unless your father was 'a something' by which i mean well connected and rich?.
Good luck to Mr Mifsud. He deserves more,not that whatever he gets will be compensation enough after 20 years of angst.
Kevin Bonnici
Nov 10th 2008, 16:45
Can we teenagers of the 80's get compensation from Mr.Dom Mintoff and the labour party for ruining all our education and ruining our future???
J Grima
Nov 10th 2008, 16:40
Pretty reasonable