Constitutional challenge against continued detention of suspected trafficker rejected

A court has rejected a constitutional challenge to the Court of Criminal Appeal's decision denying bail to Darren Desira – the man at the centre of a 2012 bribery scandal implicating eminent members of the judiciary – in spite of his ongoing appeal proceedings.

Madame Justice Lorraine Schembri Orland, presiding the First Hall of the Civil Court in its constitutional jurisdiction, delivered her judgement in the constitutional case filed by Desira against the Attorney General yesterday.

In 2001, Desira had been charged with the importation and trafficking of almost 2kg of cocaine of 88% purity.

Just as his trial by jury had been due to start in November 2012, but before the jury had been impanelled, Desira had admitted to the charges.

The next day, presiding judge Lawrence Quintano had heard submissions on punishment before retiring to his chambers, planning to deliver judgement later that day.

Quintano found Desira guilty and sentenced him to 18 years imprisonment, together with a fine.

It later emerged, however that whilst the judge had been writing the judgement, the late former judge Raymond Pace had approached him in connection with the sentence to be given, together with former assistant Police Commissioner Neil Harrison.

Pace had drawn judge Quintano's attention to previous judgements, warning of the risk of having to order retrial. Harrison had told the court that it was unusual to discuss criminal cases with members of the judiciary after sentencing .

“While I don't remember his exact words, in essence what former judge Pace had said was ‘thank God he intervened’ as the sentence was going to be low,” Harrison told the court.

Harrison said that the importance of this conversation dawned upon him later when he had been called into the office of then Commissioner of Police John Rizzo, together with Desira.

Desira had been informed that there might have been some form of external influence in his court case. During the conversation, an unnamed member of the uudiciary was mentioned, Harrison had said. At that moment, the former assistant commissioner said, he remembered the conversation with Pace and from behind Desira’s back, had mouthed the name Raymond Pace to Rizzo, who had made an affirmative gesture.

Harrison said he had lingered behind and told the former Commissioner of his conversation with Pace.

Desira had subsequently filed an appeal requesting that the Court declare the judgement against him null because of the revelations, also arguing that the length of the prison term he received had been excessive.

In the course of the police investigations, extensive surveillance had been carried out on the telephone communications between Pace, Raymond Caruana and Sandro Psaila and strongly indicated that there had been a concerted attempt to increase the severity of Desira's sentence.

Corruption charges were subsequently pressed against Pace, Raymond Caruana and Sandro Psaila.

Pace and Raymond Caruana have since passed away.

In 2014, pending the outcome of this appeal, Desira had filed a request for bail as the appeal case had not yet been allocated a sitting, but this had been refused. The Constitutional application argued that his continued detention breached his fundamental human rights.

In a highly detailed 67-page judgement dismissing the application, Madam Justice Lorraine Schembri Orland held that the court could not ignore the fact that Desira had admitted to his guilt as well as that the European Convention on Human Rights did not guarantee bail pending an appeal.