A lawyer defending disbarred lawyer Patrick Spiteri said today he was placing the responsibility for his client's deteriorating health squarely on the court's shoulders.
In a sitting this morning, Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona heard a court-appointed doctor who visited Dr Spiteri in prison, testify that his condition was worsening due to his incarceration. He recommended that he be held at home.
Dr Spiteri was extradited to Malta from the UK in May to face a number of criminal charges of fraud and misappropriation thought to total some €7.4 million. The cases are spread amongst three magistrates, who all must approve his bail requests before he is released.
This morning a court-appointed consultant physician reported that Dr Spiteri could not be held in prison because of the overcrowding, stress and cigarettes which exacerbate a rare skin condition called Behchet's syndrome, which he had been diagnosed as suffering from.
He is not the untrustworthy person depicted by the prosecution. He is a man who was sick and being treated
Defence lawyer Stefano Filletti argued that his client's continued detention was a disproportionate measure because Spiteri was never shown to be on the run. “He didn't return for his sittings but we have seen today that the UK doctors had advised against his return to Malta due to his condition. His absence was not the result of an escape but medical advice that is a justified legal reason for his absence.”
The picture painted by the prosecution, that Dr Spiteri had been a difficult person to trace and return to Malta was not accurate, said the lawyer.
“This means he is not the untrustworthy person depicted by the prosecution. He is a man who was sick and being treated...So much so, that the UK authorities only released him for travel after a Maltese doctor sent to accompany him to Malta took personal responsibility for the man's health during his transit to Malta.”
Dr Spiteri also has no access to his documents, his lawyer said, echoing a submission made last week in one of his other cases, “How can you expect him to prepare his defence if he is being denied access to his documents?”
“Is it possible that we cannot find a formula which allows him to be held at a private residence with all the safeguards needed and which balances his right to health, while ensuring that he attends court sittings?”
The court, the lawyer said, had also been shown that his stay in prison was harming his health. Stress, overcrowding and smoking all worsen his medical condition. “The doctor's medical recommendation, not a social suggestion, is that he is held at a private residence.”
The lawyer described Spiteri's continued incarceration as “almost inhuman and degrading treatment.” “Painful spasms, nausea, ulcers, open wounds. These all bring
“Painful spasms, nausea, ulcers, open wounds. These all bring pain with them. In the circumstances, he should not be denied bail.”
“From now on, with all due respect, the health of this man is the responsibility of whoever is making this decision. The doctor has spoken and said that he should not be held in prison.”
Lawyer Stefano Filletti was defence counsel.