Businessman accused of raping woman several times a day to remain in custody

A court has turned down a request for bail by Tunisian businessman who has already spent ten days in police custody on rape charges.

On the 21st of July, Police Inspector Joseph Busuttil had charged Mohammed el Herzi , 55, a businessman who owns a textile company and who regularly visits Malta, with trafficking a Tunisian woman, holding her against her will and with violently forcing himself on her.

The woman was certified as having suffered sight injuries as a result of the attack.

As the compilation of evidence against the Tunisian began this morning, the police inspector told magistrate Antonio Vella that back in September 2014, the Vice Squad had been informed that an Italian woman had reported being locked in a Sliema residence for several days and repeatedly raped by Mohammed el Herzi.

She had told police that the two had met in Palermo on a boat to Tunis and the accused had asked the victim to accompany him on a business trip to Malta and ply her trade as a hairdresser.  El Herzy had paid for the woman’s air tickets and picked her up at the airport on her arrival. She had asked the accused in which salon she would be working, but the accused instead asked her to marry him. She had declined the offer, saying that she had come to Malta to work.

The inspector went on, explaining how the victim had alleged that El Herzy had locked her up in his apartment, raping her several times a day and forcing her to wash him.

She had somehow escaped and made her way to the police station, where she filed a report.

Upon their arrival at the flat, the police found that Herzi and his son had both escaped.  Police investigations revealed that the moment that the victim had escaped, the accused and his son had gone straight to the airport and bought a ticket to Italy and had already arrived by the time the police had raided their apartment. A European Arrest Warrant was issued.

However the accused had returned to Malta of his own accord, on business and was arrested in connection with a pickpocketing operation in Sliema. It was after this arrest that the police discovered that he was already on the system, and on the run, wanted for the rape charge.

As soon as he was arrested  El Herzy started complaining of chest pains and was taken to hospital, only to be released soon after as no illness was found.  The Tunisian had tried this stunt a second time his second statement was being taken and so the police decided to arraign him immediately.

His flatmate had told the police that she had noticed that the woman would always be accompanied by the accused or his son. She heard an argument when the victim said she wanted to get a ticket back home and had been told that if she wanted to leave, he could sell her into prostitution to fund her flight home.

Defence lawyer Leon Bencini  requested bail for the accused, however the prosecution objected, pointing to the fact that he had already absconded from Malta once and even changed his name to allow him to re-enter Malta undetected. The European Arrest Warrant has no effect in Tunisia, said the inspector, saying he feared that the accused would tamper with evidence or escape as he had no ties to Malta and no fixed address.

Bencini opposed this argument, saying it is unacceptable and discriminatory to deny bail to avoid a person absconding “just because he is a non-EU citizen.” His client has been visiting Malta for 18 years and owns a company incorporated in Malta and Tunisia.

The court, however, turned down the request for bail on the grounds that the accused did not offer the necessary guarantees and ordered he be remanded until his next sitting, which will take place in September.