A man facing drug trafficking charges and who has been in preventive custody for over two and a half years because he cannot pay a €10,000 bail deposit has requested the Constitutional Court to make his bail affordable.

Zeba Moussa, 35, filed a judicial application against the Attorney General, claiming a breach of his constitutional and fundamental human rights after he was kept in prison pending his court hearing.

Mr Moussa, of Burkina Faso, was charged together with another three men in 2008 with forming part of a drugs ring conspiring to import cocaine.

His long period under preventive custody breached his right to a trial within a reasonable time period and should have been considered “illegal”, he said.

Since the Maltese Criminal Code imposed a maximum of 20 months under preventive custody, the courts “presumably had no other choice” but to grant him bail once his time was up.

However, the court imposed an “excessive” deposit as part of his bail conditions that did not reflect his “precarious financial situation”, Mr Moussa argued.

As a result, he filed several applications requesting the court to review the bail deposit. The court upheld one of his requests and reduced it slightly but Mr Moussa still could not afford it and was still under preventive custody.

He pointed out that European and Maltese law made it clear that bail had to be effective and not “academic”, adding that his nationality should not be detrimental to his fundamental and constitutional rights.

Mr Moussa called on the court to reduce the deposit or grant him bail against a personal guarantee and issue provisions to safeguard his rights.

Lawyer Josè Herrera signed the application.