A Dutch national was yesterday awarded €5,000 in damages after a court found that his fundamental human right was violated due to the excessive delay in concluding criminal proceedings against him.

In a constitutional application against the Attorney General, Samuel Onyeabor said he was arraigned before the Magistrates’ Court in 2008 on charges of possession and trafficking of drugs but the compilation proceedings had not yet been concluded. This, he insisted, was a violation of his right to a fair trial within a reasonable time.

He said he had been denied bail for 22 months, which was an excessively long period of time, and had not been allowed to return to Holland to undergo surgery there.

A violation of his right to a fair trial within a reasonable time

Mr Justice Tonio Mallia, sitting in the First Hall of the Civil Court, found that this was a complex case involving charges of importation of six kilos of cocaine and the arrest of five other foreigners who were allegedly involved in an international drug trafficking ring. He noted that six years was a long time in a person’s life, particularly in view of the fact that the compilation proceedings had not yet been concluded. Having been denied bail for 22 months was also an excessively long time.

Criminal cases, the judge said, generally demanded more urgency than civil ones because the liberty of an individual was at stake.

However, not allowing the accused to return to Holland for surgery did not amount to a violation of his human rights. Mr Onyeabor had been granted access to doctors in Malta and it was confirmed that the surgery could, in fact, be carried out here, Mr Justice Mallia said.