Lilu King remanded in custody again after bail is revoked following Attorney General appeal

Mohammed Ali Ahmed Elmushraty Lilu King has once again been rearrested after having his bail revoked following an appeal by the Attorney General.

The appeal came after a court’s decision to grant Lilu King bail last week.

In the submissions, lawyer Maria Francesca Spiteri from the Attorney General’s office noted

there remains a real fear that the accused would commit another offence.

Although there has been an increase in the bail amounts, the prosecution did not believe this change acts as an effective deterrent. There are still several pending cases against him, and the prosecution believed that even the introduction of a third-party guarantee would offer insufficient assurance that he would refrain from further criminal conduct.

“He might not return to Libya, where he is reportedly wanted in connection with a murder. However, this does not eliminate the risk of him absconding”,  the prosecution contended. “Despite having spent a long time in Malta, he has no meaningful ties to the country. His history reflects a refractory and untrustworthy character, and when considering the sentence he may face, including for breach of bail conditions, the risk remains serious”.

Defence lawyer Franco Debono remarked that even in homicide cases, the conditions imposed on accused persons are often less harsh than those imposed on Elmushraty.

The case initially started with charges relating to minor injuries, but legal issues arose during the arraignment, and the charges were later changed to grievous bodily harm. The conditions which were imposed are much stricter than those imposed in homicide cases and individuals accused with homicide sometimes face lighter conditions.

Despite this, the defence did not appeal the conditions, Debono argued.

The defence lawyer also noted the accused has always shown respect for court procedures.

In its decision, the court considered that the accused did not provide enough guarantees that he would adhere to the bail conditions in the sitting before the Court of Magistrates.

The court was also not convinced that he would comply with the conditions, despite being harsh. Thus, the appeal was upheld by the court.

Judge Neville Camilleri ordered the revocation of bail and instructed the accused to be remanded in custody.

The appeal followed a decision of the court on 11 July when Mohammed Ali Ahmed Elmushraty was once again granted bail after facing assault charges and breaching bail conditions the court had imposed on him in March last year.

Elmushraty faces the charges following an incident in Sliema last October, during which he allegedly assaulted, injured, and threatened another man. The assault was the result of a misunderstanding between the accused and the victim.

The bail was subject to a number of conditions including a deposit of €40,000 as well as a personal guarantee of €200,000.

This was the third time the self-proclaimed “King of Paceville” was granted bail over the same charges.

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The conditions also included a curfew as well as keeping a distance from ports and the airport.

On 16 May, he was granted bail on the same case, and the decision was overturned a week later following an appeal by the AG.

Before the Sliema brawl, Elmushraty once again found himself in trouble after allegedly crashing his car into a buggy on purpose in Paceville while out on bail.

Elmushraty is being represented by lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri, Adreana Zammit, and Jose Herrera.