Russian shooting suspect remanded in custody

A Russian man as denied bail this morning, after he appeared in court charged with shooting at his wife.

Magistrate Ian Farrugia heard Inspector Elton Taliana explain how, on 30 March, Simon Aydelman, 53, from Moscow, had fired a shot from a semiautomatic pistol at his wife in their San Gwann home.

Luckily the bullet missed its target, penetrating the television and the window behind the television, before lodging itself in the façade of a building across the road.

The inspector told the court that the accused, a former soldier with the Israeli Defence Forces, suffered from an unidentified disorder that caused him to have episodes of paranoia. He added that Aydelman had a drinking problem and that he had been drunk at the time of his arrest. A small amount of cannabis had also been recovered from Aydelman’s home, added the inspector.

The court heard that on 17 September last year, Aydelman had been found guilty of discharging a firearm in public and threatening to kill his wife.

Defence lawyer Robert Galea argued that the prosecution had apparently already decided the case, when the accused should be presumed innocent until proven otherwise. The accused had consistently denied the charges. Aydelman did not have a pistol and, in fact the police had not found a weapon, said Galea.

With regards to the cannabis charge, Galea pointed out that the accused was not the only person residing at the address searched.

The accused requested bail. However, in the light of the circumstances and serious nature of the charges, the accused’s previous convictions and lack of adequate proof of his ties to Malta, the court denied this request.

Magistrate Farrugia recommended that the director of prisons provide the psychological and healthcare attention required.

Lawyers Robert Galea and Shazoo Ghaznavi represented the accused.