UPDATED 5.45pm:
The mother of Daniel Holmes, who was jailed controversially for over 10 years on cannabis offences, has retracted allegations that Frenċ tal-Għarb, regarded as a holy man, used cannabis to heal people.
Kate Holmes made the allegation in a heartfelt open letter for her son’s case to be reconsidered.
The claims, however, caused a stir within the Għarb local council, which issued a statement saying it would take legal action to safeguard the reputation of the man.
The Għarb Council this evening welcomed Mrs Holmes's retraction, pointing out that it felt duty bound to address the allegations made.
"Frenc tal-Għarb holds a special place in the heart of all those forming part of the Għarb community, and in the heart of many Maltese and Gozitans alike. This became evident during this week in particular given the number of calls made and the number of messages received by the Għarb Local Council supporting its decision to intervene," a statement by the council said.
The council said its members and staff cannot but sympathise with Mrs Holmes during these times which are proving to be difficult to her and her family and said it is "most definitely" unwilling to escalate matters especially now that this retraction has been made.
The letter was sent after spending a lonely and difficult Christmas with my husband in the situation he’s in after the stroke and my son, who is in a jail far away from home
Mrs Holmes's letter said it “unequivocally contested” her “baseless allegations” and would be taking all necessary legal action to ensure that the man’s memory was not tainted in any way.
Contacted later, Ms Holmes said she had no intention to tarnish anyone’s reputation.
“I sincerely apologise for any comments that offended anyone. The letter was sent after spending a lonely and difficult Christmas with my husband in the situation he’s in after the stroke and my son, who is in a jail far away from home,” a heartbroken Ms Holmes said as she sobbed.
“In my letter I included a sentence about a very good man that I would like to retract. I was just quoting something told to me by my Maltese friends and thought that it was general public knowledge. What I said was in good faith and I had no intention whatsoever to tarnish anyone’s reputation or bring anyone into disrepute. I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience I caused,” she said.
“I just wanted to help not get everyone into more trouble. We are a Catholic family and I spent the night praying to the Virgin Mary to help me out of this mess. It was a genuine plea. We just want our son back,” she added.
Mr Holmes was 28 when he was arrested in 2006 at his Gozo flat, where he was growing cannabis plants that he insisted were for his personal use.
The police said he was found with just over a kilogram of dried cannabis and 0.24 grams of cannabis resin, with a total value of €11,694.
He was charged with the importation, cultivation, possession and sale of cannabis.
In 2011, he was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison and fined €23,000.