Compensation to ex-prison guard

Former prison guard Anthony Mifsud has formally written to the government demanding payment of €186,000 compensation ordered by the court for being tortured by policemen 28 years ago.

In 1983, Mr Mifsud was wrongly accused of helping two prisoners escape and was forced, at gunpoint, to sign an admission of guilt, causing him to spend three years in prison for nothing.

Four months after the courts determined the compensation due, Mr Mifsud is still waiting empty-handed.

The government said it was "committed to pay the amount due and settle the matter as soon as possible" but was waiting for Mr Mifsud to clarify some legal points.

"Mr Mifsud still has to indicate whether and from whom he has claimed the amount in order to avoid confusion and double payments," a spokesman for the Justice Ministry said. This was because the amount was "due jointly and severally by various defendants, which means that the whole amount may be claimed from a number of persons but is due to be paid only once".

In September 2009, the court decided that Mr Mifsud was owed €25,000 from his aggressors and €161,000 from the state.

Initially, Mr Mifsud had appealed the compensation judgment, claiming he was owed up to €1.2 million. But this worked against him because he lost the appeal and the Constitutional Court ordered him to pay 20 per cent of the court fees for asking for more than was due to him by law.

This is one of the points affecting the delay in payment because the government is waiting for the costs to be deducted from the compensation owed.

The ministry spokesman said the Police Commissioner owed Mr Mifsud money but Mr Mifsud also owed the police by way of costs.

"What is owed by and owed to Mr Mifsud in legal fees can be determined by a taxed bill of costs... Once all these issues have been clarified, which should not take long, it will be possible to make a final settlement."

But Mr Mifsud's lawyer, Tonio Azzopardi, said it was an "undeniable fact" that the authorities had failed to comply with the court judgment.

"The judgment contained an order by the Constitutional Court, which should have been enough. Since when does a judgment condemning the defendant to pay a specific sum of money require a letter by the applicant's lawyer in order to become effective?"

He sent a letter to the Attorney General requesting payment on Wednesday, after he was "requested to do so through an informal source speaking on behalf of the authorities" who said it was required in order to facilitate payment.

cperegin@timesofmalta.com