The justice system is showing less concern about how decisions are affecting the lives of people kept in jail, at times for years, awaiting trial, according to Mid-Dlam Għad-Dawl director George Busuttil.

If Osman is found not guilty, it will mean we have robbed him of five years of his life

No one seemed to care about the people, like 31-year-old Osman Omar, who was still presumed innocent yet had been in jail for five years, said Mr Busuttil who heads the organisation that works with inmates.

“If Osman is found not guilty it will mean we have robbed him of five years of his life. Five years from seeing his son growing up... Osman’s case is not the only one. There are quite a few prisoners, mostly dark skinned ones, who have been in prison for years while their cases are being heard,” he said.

The Sunday Times reported the story of Mr Omar, a Somali man who has been in preventive custody at the Corradino Correctional Facility since he was arrested in March 2007.

He is charged, along with another two Somalis and a Sudanese man, of complicity in a gang rape, which allegedly took place near the Marsa Open Centre. He has always insisted on his innocence saying he tried to stop the rape.

Mr Omar was only granted bail in 2009 but he remained behind bars as he could not afford to pay the bail bond of €6,000. Recently a court upheld one of several applications and reduced the amount to €4,000. It is still beyond his reach but British benefactors have come forward offering to foot the bill. “I will not admit to what I did not do,” insisted Mr Omar who tried committing suicide twice in jail. He said he was now waiting for his bail bond to be paid and could not wait to spend time with his wife and their eight-year-old son outside prison walls.

Human rights lawyer Therese Comodini Cachia said granting someone bail against an unaffordable bond could result in a breach of human rights.

According to the law the court had to consider the person’s financial means. Mr Omar could open a constitutional case and try to prove that the court had proof he could not afford the bail.

Two years ago the constitutional court found that the right to freedom of Richard Grech, who was awaiting trial for homicide, had been breached due to an excessive bail bond. He could not afford the €50,000 he was asked to pledge or deposit.

Mr Busuttil said a quarter of the prison population included people in preventive custody. Inside prison there was no distinction between convicted criminals and those awaiting trial.

“Why is bail set so high when a person is clearly not in a position to pay? Are we keeping people in prison because they are poor? Clearly, something is wrong in the way our courts conduct their business,” he said.

Questions sent to the Justice Ministry, asking about court delays and unaffordable bail, remained unanswered by the time of writing.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.