A man who says he was wrongfully jailed for child abuse told The Sunday Times of Malta yesterday he was hopeful justice would prevail.

“This struggle has broken me, mentally and morally. But at the end of the day what matters to me is that my name is cleared,” he said in his first comments to the media from prison.

The man has always maintained his innocence and kept up the fight to clear his name despite being convicted and sentenced to a two-year jail term for abusing his daughter.

In a recent magisterial inquiry, the daughter, now 20, recanted her claims. The mother has been charged with perjury for allegedly making up the story, and criminal proceedings will be filed against the girl as well.

This new evidence has given fresh hope to the father, who is not being named to protect the girl’s identity. He has already spent close to 400 days in jail.

After this new evidence emerged, a hearing was held Friday afternoon on an urgent application filed earlier in the Court of Appeal by the man’s lawyer, Tonio Azzopardi. In his application, Dr Azzopardi claimed a miscarriage of justice had occurred.

But the courts again refused a request to temporarily release him. In his decree yesterday, Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi said the court could not uphold the request because it did not have the power to reopen a case that had already been closed.

Jailed father’s lawyer says the State has to find a solution

Despite what his lawyer describes as “an abundance of evidence proving his innocence”, the father remains behind bars. This led his lawyer to declare it “unacceptable” in a democracy that the State does not have the means to address a situation where a wrongful conviction cannot be overturned.

Dr Azzopardi told The Sunday Times of Malta Parliament should legislate to address this anomaly. He said the State has to find a solution because it was putting itself in a position where it was responsible for a breach of fundamental rights according to the European Convention that guarantees personal freedom.

I hope we are changing legal history. I am laying the ground for others

The father acknowledges the implications of his struggle: “I hope we are changing legal history. My story has been compared to David and Goliath’s and we know what David did. I am laying the ground for others so those who suffered an injustice may in future seek redress.”

His lawyer’s hopes are now pinned on the Constitutional Court, which has the power to provide the man with an interim release until the case against his wife is concluded.

Last Friday, Dr Azzopardi also filed a constitutional case over the right to a fair hearing. A decision on whether the father will be released is expected on Thursday.

“I am hopeful. It is not easy, but we can never give up. What matters to me is that justice is done,” the father said. He said it was the support he received from his partner that gave him the strength to keep up the fight to clear his name.

“I can never repay my partner. When all this started 12 years ago, we had just started seeing each other. She could have easily walked away. But she stuck by me. She believed in me. She stood by my side, fighting for the truth to emerge.

“She is still there supporting me and hoping that I may eventually be released. Then, maybe, we can start to rebuild our lives.”

He also showered praise on his lawyer, the Police Commissioner and Inspector Sandro Camilleri appointed to the case.

“They restored my belief that there are people out there who have a conscience and who believe in justice.”

The case has triggered off an online campaign calling for his release. A petition organised by Xarabank has attracted more than 4,000 signatures.