Josette Bickle, the former prison inmate jailed for 12 years for drug trafficking in prison, has appealed her conviction, saying the jurors made a mistaken evaluation of the evidence and that the prosecution's case was based on the evidence of four witnesses who had been 'blatanly and manifestly lying'.

Bickle had also been fined €23,000 after the jurors heard how she trafficked drugs and treated other prisoners as her slaves.The trial was also told that she had four television sets and a sound surround system in her cell.

In her appeal today, Bickle said that owing to sensationalism which was 'the major feature' of the prosecution's case, jurors had been misled and had given weight to what was probably irrelevant to the case.

The fact that thse four witnesses corroborated each other in their untruths showed that everything had been orchestrated, Bickle said, adding that she was the victim of their plan.

Bickle said that under no circumstance could she have been legally and reasonably found guilty of the charges brought against her. Various arguments raised by the prosecutions were based on assertions which had not been confirmed.

Furthermore, the punishment handed down by the court was excessive.

In her appeal Bickle raised technical and legal issues. She said that a party producing a witness could not attack his credibility. Alison Sghendo was one of the prosecution witnesses and yet the prosecutors in the winding up attacked her evidence to undermine her credibility.

The defence had contested this during the trial but the presiding judge in his address to the jurors said the prosecution was justified in discrediting its own witness.

Mrs Bickle said this was an incorrect interpretation of the law and had led to a negative verdict by the jurors.

She asked the court to overturn the verdict, declare her not guilty and clear her of all the charges. Alternatively she asked for a lesser punishment.

Drs Roberto Montalto and Marion Camilleri signed the appeal.