[attach id=256577 size="medium"]Nizar El Gadi.[/attach]

The Libyan man charged with killing his estranged wife, the lawyer Margaret Mifsud, was yesterday denied bail after spending 10 months in custody.

His defence counsel, Martin Testaferrata Moroni Viani, argued that it was his client’s right to be granted bail but the lawyer from the Attorney General’s Office, Beryl Buttigieg, objected to his release.

The accused, 34-year-old Nizar El Gadi, stands charged with murdering 31-year-old Dr Mifsud, who had two children with him.

She was found dead in her Mitsubishi Sirion on April 19 last year after spending the previous evening with friends at a restaurant in Xemxija.

There were no signs of violence on her body except for blood that had trickled out of her nose and mouth, the court heard in a previous sitting.

On the other hand, Mr El Gadi’s DNA was found under Dr Mifsud’s fingernails and on a tissue on her car’s back seat, along with traces of her blood and lipstick.

In the bail hearing yesterday, Police Inspector Keith Arnaud, who investigated and is prosecuting in the case, testified about Mr El Gadi’s credibility, saying he had been threatened and harassed by him during the investigation.

He said that on the way to court the accused had harassed both him and another officer but as soon as they reached the court building Mr El Gadi’s attitude changed completely and he acted normally.

Under cross examination, Inspector Arnaud confirmed that Mr El Gadi had been cleared in court of threatening the other officer but was found guilty of threatening him and sentenced to four months in jail.

He has appealed.

In further pleas on bail, Dr Testaferrata Moroni Viani argued there was no risk his client would tamper with evidence as he did not have access to his children: the court had awarded sole rights to Dr Mifsud at a time when his client was abroad.

However, Dr Buttigieg argued that since Mr El Gadi was living in a hotel before he had been arrested and had no fixed address, there was no control over his whereabouts.

Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano postponed the decision until the afternoon, when he denied the request for bail.