Eugene Galea, a former employer of the Animal Welfare Deopartment, filed a Constitutional application against the Attorney General, the Police Commissioner and Police Inspector Sarah Magri alleging double jeopardy and torture.

Mr Galea, 54, of Lija, is facing charges of harassing Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Rights Roderick Galdes and driving dangerously.

In his application, signed by Jason Grima, Mr Galea claimed that when he was arrested on allegations that he breached bail conditions, he was beaten up and tortured by policemen. He was wounded in the process.

He is also claiming double jeopardy - he had been fined €100 for failing to turn up in court and then charged again for breaching bail conditions over the same thing, for which he received a two-month jail term.

Mr Galea said that Magistrate Anthony Vella, before whom he was charged with breaching bail, had postponed his case for the prosecution to present its evidence when he had seen his wounds. However, he was later sentenced to two months in jail.

He said that Deputy Police Commissioner Ray Zammit, then in charge of the prison administration, had failed to investigate the matter. The matter was also not investigated by the Police Commissioner who had been informed of the matter through a criminal complaint.

Mr Galea said he had called on the Commissioner to obtain CCTV from Mater Dei Hospital which he claimed showed the police beating him up.

He called on the Constitutional Court to condemn prosecutor Police Inspector Sarah Magri and the Police Commissioner for their abusive behaviour, declare that his human rights had been breached and that the Commissioner had breached his rights when he was tortured in the most degrading and humiliating manner.