Electronic tagging pilot project direct order awarded to brother of parliamentary secretary

The electronic tagging pilot project was awarded, through direct order, to a company partially owned by the brother of parliamentary secretary Andy Ellul.

The information was tabled in parliament by Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri in reply to a parliamentary question by Nationalist MP Mark Anthony Sammut.

The direct order was granted to Prosecure Limited, a company in which Ellul’s brother, John Charles Ellul, holds a significant share. According to the Malta Business Registry, Ellul is also a director of the company. The direct order was granted in 2019.

John Charles Ellul landed himself in hot water back in 2022, when he suggested PN MPs should be pelted with eggs and tomatoes on his personal Facebook account. Ellul, who was director of studies at the Academy for Discplined Forces, later apologised and was ordered to delete the post by Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri.

He is a former police forensics expert.

The remote monitoring technology had started being used by the Correctional Services Agency since December 2019. Eight low-risk prisoners were tagged and granted prison leave to spend Christmas with their families in the first experiment with the system.

According to the draft Bill published in 2021, tagging will be allowed on the order of the court, the CEO of the Correctional Services Agency, or the Parole Board.

Electronic tagging will only be available for effective prison penalties of not more than a year, and provided that the crime’s maximum penalty does not exceed a two-year prison sentence. Certain crimes like domestic violence and corruption of minors will be exempt.

Earlier this month, the Home Affairs minister said electronic tagging for certain inmates at the Corradino Correctional Facility is set to be introduced next year.

The issue of electronic tagging was raised once again earlier this year, when the convicted explosives importer Jomic Calleja Maatouk fled the country while appealing a five-year jail term.

Former Nationalist MP Franco Debono had raised the proposal of electronic tagging back in 2012.

A tender for electronic tagging service providers was issued in November 2022.