An appeals court yesterday confirmed a ruling which held that a person denied access to a lawyer at the start of police investigations had suffered a violation of his fundamental human rights.

The Constitutional Court of appeal handed down the judgment yesterday in the case against 20-year-old Alvin Privitera who stands charged with drug trafficking.

Mr Privitera was arraigned in April 2009 but his lawyer, Franco Debono, challenged the fact that his client had been denied access to a lawyer, insisting this was in breach of his right to a fair hearing.

The original judgment had declared that the fact Mr Privitera was not granted access to a lawyer during interrogation constituted a breach of his rights.

In yesterday’s judgment, however, the court, made up of three judges, said they believed that right should be granted before the interrogation and not during. The rest of the judgment was confirmed in its entirety and sent back to the Magistrates Court for the presiding magistrate to take note of when deciding the case.

Mr Privitera was arrested in his home in Fgura in April 2007 and was immediately interrogated and strip-searched. He was also kept at the police headquarters lock-up for 17 hours without being told why he was being held or the nature of the charges. At no point was he assisted by a lawyer.