Bid for compensation fails in khat importation case

A Somali man who spent three years in jail only to be acquitted of importing khat on appeal yesterday lost a call for compensation after the Constitutional Court ruled that, given the complexity of the case, the three-year wait was not excessive.

Khalif Id Ahmed was arrested on July 22, 2006 and spent three years in prison during which he was first found guilty and later acquitted, on July 14, 2009, of importing an illegal substance, on the strength of a separate landmark case, which ruled that khat could not be considered illegal in itself.

The plant, catha edulis, has been chewed by east Africans for hundreds of years and plays a big part in the social lives of both men and women. But it is banned across America, Canada and most of Europe, although it is legal in Britain.

Mr Ahmed complained that the years he spent in custody, while the case was being decided, were far too long and, so, he demanded compensation, claiming this was a breach of his human rights.

However, Mr Justice Tonio Mallia said that because of the complexity of the case– being one of the first two cases in which the legality of khat was being tested in court – the three-year wait was not excessive.

The judge pointed out that in view of the sudden influx of irregular migrants, especially from Somalia, the authorities were faced with a “novel situation” whereby certain so-called drugs, traditionally used by these people, started being brought to Malta. The novelty of the situation was that, while the plant imported was not prohibited, components of the plant were and the courts were initially faced with the delicate issue of deciding whether or not there was breach of the law in the importation of the sub-stance.

The nature and content of the imported drug were easy to determine scientifically but the legality of its importation was not. For a time, the criminal courts adopted a stand that importation of khat breached the law until the Court of Criminal Appeal in Aways Manni Khayre vs the Police gave a very detailed and studied judgment, which set the record straight, Mr Justice Tonio Mallia said.

The judge pointed out that Mr Ahmed’s lawyer failed to appear in court a number of times, delaying the process, before he dismissed the application and denied the request for remedy.