Parliament trespassers jailed

A magistrate has jailed two men who sneaked into the a restricted area underneath the new Parliament building last month, finding them guilty of the trespassing charge, but not of theft or relapsing.

Eman Zammit, 36, and Clayton Fava, 28, had been arrested last August after they were discovered in tunnels leading to Parliament. The pair had claimed to be sheltering from the freak rainstorm that had lashed the islands that day, but were charged with entering a restricted area, stealing tools and relapsing.

This morning, Magistrate Joe Mifsud cleared the men of the theft and relapsing charges, noting that with regards to the former charge, he had not been shown any evidence to support the allegation that the men had intended or attempted to steal tools that had been stored in the tunnel.

The court also found the men not guilty of the charge of recidivism, due to the fact that no original copies of any prior convictions had been submitted by the prosecution. This in spite of the fact that the accused men had both been found guilty by the courts in the past, Zammit fifteen times and Fava eight.

The men were sentenced to five months' imprisonment and placed under a supervision order for four years. In his sentence, Magistrate Mifsud made recommendations for changes to security arrangements to the building.

Lawyers Franco Galea and Matthew Bondin appeared for the men.