The criminal court has turned down a request by the attorney general to revoke a magistrate’s decree granting bail to disbarred lawyer Patrick Spiteri. 

Mr Spiteri has been under preventive arrest ever since his extradition from England in May, to face criminal proceedings in Malta over misappropriation and fraud totalling €7.4 million.

Last month, magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit had granted the former lawyer bail under strict conditions which amounted to house arrest.

A few days later, the criminal court, presided over by Madam Justice Edwina Grima, had revoked the bail decree following an application by the Attorney General.

In doing so, it had said that if the magistrates’ court felt that Dr Spiteri merited bail, then it ought to have granted him effective liberty rather than place him under house arrest, which amounted to a state of arrest nonetheless, the criminal court had declared.

That decision had magistrate Stafrace Zammit to alter the bail conditions, imposing a curfew between 12.00pm and 8.30am, a deposit of €15,000 and a personal guarantee of €25,000.

Once again, the attorney general filed an application to have that decree revoked but the criminal court, presided over by Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi, declared that in view of Dr Spiteri’s medical condition, his situation was to be “assessed attentively so that he might be held in an environment which would minimize the negative effects of his illness.”

This pronouncement by a superior court will still not bring about any immediate change to the accused’s situation since his arrest, under other separate proceedings, still stands.

Dr Spiteri, a victim of Behcet’s syndrome, as certified by medical documents, has allegedly been experiencing a worsening of conditions throughout his stay at the Corradino Correctional Facility.

Lawyer Stefano Filletti is defence counsel.