A lawyer representing the wife of Emanuel Camilleri, who was allegedly wrongly jailed because of her evidence, complained in court today that the TV programme Xarabank had severely prejudiced the case against her.

The woman, Lisa May Camilleri, is pleading not guilty to having lied in court, leading to her husband being jailed for sexually abusing their daughter.

Mr Camilleri was held behind bars for 400 days before being provisionally released by the Constitutional Court. The couple's daughter yesterday admitted perjury in separate proceedings.

Lawyer Martin Fenech made the comments as he objected to a video copy of the programme being presented in court as evidence. During the programme the daughter Leanne Camilleri had admitted to perjury and to making up sexual abuse allegations against her father.

Dr Fenech said the programme was 'specifically intended' to influence the case and the media had been manipulated. The Broadcasting Authority had actually censured the programme because it breached his client's rights.  The 'best bit' of the programme, he said, was when Police Inspector Sandro Camilleri, Mr Camilleri and his lawyer were filmed leaving prison together in a police car. It was unheard of for a police inspector to leave prison in the same car as an accused person and his lawyer.

Reacting, Inspector Camilleri said he always followed the orders of the Police Commissioner and he had done nothing wrong.

Xarabank presenter Peppi Azzopardi said that even before the programme went on air, he stopped his cameraperson from filming Mrs Camilleri entering court because he believed that an accused should not be named in the media before conviction. The programme never mentioned her name and deliberately left out a comment by Leanne Camilleri that her mother had forced her to lie under oath.

Magistrate Ian Farrugia denied the request for the video recording to be entered into the records of the case.

EMANUEL CAMILLERI CONTINUES TO TESTIFY

The court this morning also continued to hear testimony by Mr Camilleri. He said that in 2010 his wife threw their daughter out of her home because she thought she was pregnant. Mr Camilleri and his wife were living separately at the time and Mr Camilleri was already facing court proceedings for alleged sex abuse.  The daughter went to him for shelter.

In 2009, he said, the daughter had tried to commit suicide. At the time, he had been granted court permission to speak to his daughter in the presence of policemen and a social worker. During that meeting the daughter, out of her free will, asked him whether she would go to prison if she told the truth.

The policemen present for this meeting did not testify in the case against him.

At one point Leanne had also spoken to the Children's Advocate. But the report was not entered into the court proceeding.

OPPOSITION TO BAIL

During arguments on bail for Mrs Camilleri, the prosecution strongly objected, saying there was a real fear that Mrs Camilleri may contact her daughter, who was a vulnerable person.

Dr Fenech asked what would happen if the case against the daughter took a year, would Mrs Camilleri have to remain behind bars. Even people accused of murder were out on bail.

He also complained of 'selective justice' said the wife was arraigned under arrest, while the daughter was not.

The court upheld the request for bail. Magistrate Farrugia said the daughter was not a vulnerable person. He however warned Mrs Camilleri not to communicate with her daughter in any way. Should she, or anyone related to her, even glare at the daughter from 50 metres away, Mrs Camilleri would be imprisoned, the magistrate warned.

Bail was set at €5,000.