A man who is facing court proceedings for allegedly slightly injuring and harassing his girlfriend was today released from prison after a magistrate ruled that another court was wrong to have ordered his arrest.

Sean Grima, 23 of Cospicua, stands charged with slightly injuring, harassing and threatening his girlfriend.

On Thursday last week Mr Grima failed to turn up in court and once Magistrate Marseann Farrugia established that he had been properly notified, she ordered his re-arrest and the revocation of his bail. He was arrested on the same day in Kalkara and held at Corradino.

Yesterday, when the case continued, lawyers Andy Ellul and Vince Micallef pleaded that the arrest of the accused was illegal. They argued that he had to undergo due process before bail was revoked. He needed to be found guilty, by a separate court, of breaching bail conditions. Magistrate Farrugia, however, insisted that she was correct, and Mr Grima remained under arrest.

His lawyers then filed an application claimed haebus corpus (illegal arrest), which was heard before Magistrate Neville Camilleri this afternoon.

Police Inspector Anna Marie Micallef told the court that she, as prosecutor, had not asked for Mr Grima to be re-arrested or for his bail to be revoked.

Dr Maurizio Cordina, from the Attorney General's Office, said he did not know how Magistrate Farrugia had taken her decision.

Magistrate Camilleri then decreed that he found Mr Grima's arrest to be illegal once there had been no request from the prosecution for his re-arrest or for bail to be revoked.

Mr Grima is expected to file a Constitutional case claiming a breach of human rights.