Yorgen Fenech marks 500th day in custody with constitutional case for bail

The suspected mastermind of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder, Yorgen Fenech, has filed Constitutional proceedings over the court’s repeated denial of bail in his case.

Madam Justice Miriam Hayman will hear arguments on Yorgen Fenech’s latest bail request next week.

The judge decreed that the case will be heard on Wednesday afternoon, after receiving written submissions from Yorgen Fenech’s lawyers Gianluca Caruana Curran, Marion Camilleri and Charles Mercieca. Hayman also ordered that Fenech begin presenting his evidence immediately.

In a nutshell, Fenech is arguing that he has spent over 500 days in custody while still presumed innocent, on grounds that have no basis in law and which are unconstitutional.

The grounds for refusals of bail in his case by the courts could be summed up by saying that there are pending investigations which could be prejudiced by Fenech’s release, that his release could lead to his absconding and that his release could create a public order disturbance, said his lawyers.

“With all due respect, none of these reasons are justified unless grounded in evidence, more so when over 500 days have passed in which the applicant, who is presumed innocent, is still under arrest pending his trial.”

The application askes the First Hall of the Civil Court in its Constitutional jurisdiction to declare that Fenech’s fundamental human right to liberty, as enshrined in the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, have been breached and to order his immediate release.