Safi mayor Pietru Pawl Busuttil this morning relived his horrific experiences 25 years ago when he was framed with the death of PN activist Raymond Caruana at the Gudja party club.

Speaking during an activity at the Safi club, Mr Busuttil recounted the terrible ordeal he had had to go through which led him to suffer a heart condition for which he has to take medication to this very day. His father had died as a result of the ordeal after suffering three heart attacks.

Mr Busuttil said that he had been saved by the late President Guido de Marco, then a criminal lawyer.

He said this morning he was glad he had played a part in helping his country transform itself.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that democracy had been stolen when the party winning the majority of votes was not allowed to govern 30 years ago.

Five years late, a man was killed and Mr Busuttil was framed.

The people now respected the country's democratic institutions which could help the country to progress. The country now had an education system of the highest quality, there was free press and the police carried out their duties according to law.

More needed to be done for the country to continue to strengthen its democratic values, become more efficient and enhance its role in the EU and the Mediterranean.

More needed to be done to ensure that the country's systems provided guarantees that no innocent person was ever made to suffer because of shortcomings.

Dr Gonzi thanked Mr Busuttil and described him as a man who had played a major role in the transformation of the country.