Daniel Holmes and his family are anxiously awaiting the verdict of his appeal today against his 10-and-half-year prison sentence for cannabis offences. 

The appeal judgment is expected at 3pm and Mr Holmes’s father, Mel, told timesofmalta.com: “We are feeling hopeful. The Maltese people, and many others around the world, have been wonderfully understanding and supportive.

“We just hope that, now the judges have had four months to review all the evidence, they will come to a fair decision.”

Daniel’s father added that the family felt the case should never have been moved to the high court in the first place, and, therefore, the minimum sentence should have been six months.

“Even if they acquit Daniel now he will still have been punished enough for the crime he committed.”

The family were all waiting for the decision this morning. Daniel’s wife, Marzena, turned up in court for 9am, only to be then told the verdict would not be delivered till 3pm.

“All our family and Marzena's family are waiting and praying for a fair and humane decision,” Mel said.

Now aged 35, Mr Holmes was 28 when he was arrested in June 2006 at his €300-per-month Gozo flat, where he was growing cannabis plants that he has always maintained were for personal use.

Another Briton, Barry Lee, was also arrested over the same plants. He killed himself in Corradino Correctional Facility in 2010 while awaiting trial.

In November 2011, Mr Holmes was handed a 10-and-a-half year prison term; another year will be added if he does not pay the €23,000 fine that came with it. 

Mr Holmes has always claimed the five cannabis plants and other baby plants were grown to sustain the habit of himself and Mr Lee, but he was convicted on cultivation, trafficking, possession and importation charges.

The charges and subsequent sentence made him a cause célèbre for drug reform campaigners who felt his punishment exposed glaring problems with the law and justice system.