Some 120 protesters marched down Republic Street, Valletta today calling for the immediate release of Daniel Holmes.

Organised by Alternattiva Demokratika and drug rehabilitation NGO Mid-Dlam Għad-Dawl, the demonstration was attended by Mr Holmes’s Wife Marzena and his two-year-old daughter Rainbow.

A stoic Mrs Holmes said she only wanted justice for her daughter who was being forced to grow up without a father due to a legal technicality.

Fighting back the tears, Mrs Holmes described her husband’s case as “a sham” insisting he had suffered more than anyone should have to for the crimes he committed.

Mr Holmes is serving a 10-and-a-half year jail sentence for the cultivation of five cannabis plants.

The band of protesters caused quite a stir in the capitol’s bustling shopping district. Carrying placards which read: “Let him go”, “Punishment does not fit the crime” and “Stop the injustice”, the collective chanted out “Free, free Daniel Holmes” as they stamped their feet and blew on whistles.

Moviment Grafitti spokesman Andre Callus lambasted the legal proceeding which led to Mr Holmes’s incarceration. Speaking into a megaphone on the courthouse steps, Mr Callus said the case was a miscarriage of justice.

“Daniel is a man who has been deprived of the most fundamental of human liberties, for smoking some cannabis. He never hurt anyone,” he said.

Protesters both young and old rallied for Mr Holmes’s liberation. A retired passer-by who joined the protest after abandoning his mid-morning window shopping said he couldn’t believe such penalties could ever be given for recreational drug use.

Labour MEP candidate Cyrus Engerer joined the march halfway down the main street and told timesofmalta.com that he was in favour of decriminalisation of drugs for personal use. “These people need rehabilitation, not a criminal record,” he said.