Darryl Luke BorgDarryl Luke Borg

The man at centre of a police blunder that saw him being arrested and taken to court for a crime he never committed has taken his human rights complaint to Strasbourg.

Darryl Luke Borg is not only asking for a confirmation that his arrest was in breach of his fundamental human rights but also wants the paltry €150 compensation awarded to him by the Maltese courts to be substantially increased.

He also complained that the domestic court had ordered him to pay two-thirds of the court fees, amounting to over €2,000.

In an application filed before the European Court of Human Rights, his lawyers, David Camilleri and Joseph Gatt, described the sum as “minimal”, considering that their client had been deprived of his freedom.

The 27-year-old man’s ordeal began on August 6, 2013 when he was arrested, arraigned and remanded in custody over an armed robbery at The Convenience Shop, a grocery in Mgr Alfred Mifsud Street, Birkirkara.

This followed confidential information CID police inspectors Joseph Mercieca and Carlos Cordina had received indicating that Mr Borg was the culprit. However, two days later, Birkirkara police inspector Elton Taliana charged Roderick Grech, 22, from Birkirkara, with the same crime.

Mr Grech had confessed to committing the theft, even handing over a balaclava and a plastic toy gun used during the hold-up.

He was sentenced to 12 months in jail, suspended for four years, after the court heard that he used the €630 stolen to settle gambling debts.

Mr Borg’s lawyers are insisting that the police could have never had a reasonable suspicion that it was their client who committed the robbery because CCTV footage showed clearly it was not him. The person captured on film had a completely different stature.

They also argued that the police failed to immediately withdraw proceedings against Mr Borg despite someone else admitting to the crime As a result, an innocent person remained behind bars for another 24 hours.

They also complained that Mr Borg’s initial arrest was unjustified since there was no reasonable suspicion at the time and because their client could “in no way imaginable” be identified from the CCTV footage.

They submitted that Mr Borg’s rights were also breached when the police failed to retract the charges against him.

The police had asked for Mr Borg to be granted bail despite knowing that he “was totally extraneous to the criminal offence”.

The lawyers were critical of the “measly” sum awarded to Mr Borg and the fact that he was ordered to pay court expenses that amounted to much more.

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