A drug case has been stalled until the Constitutional Court decides whether the rights of the alleged trafficker have been breached because his lawyer was not present during his interrogation.

The development, which could prove to be a landmark, came after a request by his lawyer, Franco Debono, who as an MP has been lobbying to change the present system under which there is no legal representation during police questioning.

In the case of 19-year-old Alvin Privitera, who was charged with trafficking cannabis, the police had not found any drugs in the man's possession but managed to arraign him on the strength of a statement he had released to them admitting that he had bought and then sold cannabis to a friend.

His lawyer cited a ruling of the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, Salduz vs Turkey, which held that being assisted by a lawyer during police interrogation was a key feature of a fair trial, which is a fundamental human right.

Dr Debono recently brought this case up in Parliament when pressing the same point.

The Strasbourg court ruled that, although not absolute, it is the right of everyone charged with a criminal offence to be effectively defended by a lawyer, assigned officially if need be.

In fact, Malta has a law which allows lawyers to be present during interrogations but it has never been enforced. Dr Debono, yesterday pointed out that he had already raised the matter in Parliament four times, pointing out that nothing has happened so far. "It is unacceptable that Malta is one of the few countries in the world not to allow people under interrogation to have legal assistance," he argued.

In reaction to Dr Debono's parliamentary speech, the Labour Party's spokesman on justice, lawyer José Herrera, also cited the Salduz case and said that the Labour Party was worried that, because of this judgment in the EU courts, police statements taken in criminal cases would not be considered valid and used in the courts.

The Home Affairs Ministry had said that one should "stress the importance of striking the right balance between protecting the rights of suspects and those of law-abiding citizens in this regard. Government is currently in the process of seeking this balance".

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