Man in custody complains of waiting too long for trial

A man who has been under preventative arrest for 24 months had his trial by jury brought forward after he filed a protest at the length of time it was taking for his proceedings to start.

The 36-year-old Sudanese national, Gamil Abu Bakr, stands charged with human trafficking after he allegedly tried to help four Indian nationals escape from the Safi detention centre and on to Italy in 2007.

Mr Bakr was arraigned on April 9, 2007 and remanded in custody where he has remained ever since.

In the appeal, the accused argued that he should be released on bail after 24 months in preventative custody because by law he could only face a maximum of 15 years in jail.

But the Attorney General rebutted the argument insisting that he faced up to 20 years since he also stood charged with relapsing.

According to the same law Mr Bakr quoted, it was not after 24 months that he should be granted bail but after 30 months since he faced more than 15 years in jail.

Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono said the Attorney General was correct according to law but, taking into consideration Mr Bakr had already spent a long time under preventative arrest, he brought the date of his trial forward. It will start on June 30.