Reference is made to the features by James Debono and Raphael Vassallo in your paper (28 September 2008) on the case concerning Stephen Marsden.
My office is very reluctant to react to correspondence and newspaper articles on cases which are sub judice before the courts since it does not believe in trial by media. However, when speculation and distortion of facts become rife and the order of the day, whether it be propagated by Fair Trial International, the BBC, the local press or by other persons having a direct interest in the outcome of pending criminal proceedings, then I feel, reluctantly, constrained to at least expound the facts free from embellishment and flights of fancy which do not do much to help the cause of the administration of justice.
Stephen John Louis Marsden was arrested on the night of the 9th and 10th July, 2006 on arrival from Sicily. He was driving a Mitsubishi Pajero and on a detailed search of the vehicle the Police found concealed in the vehicle several packets containing thousands of pills suspected of Ecstasy pills.
Mr Marsden made a statement to the Police and was subsequently charged in Court on the 11th July 2006 with (a) conspiracy to sell or deal in a drug (ecstasy) in Malta or promoted, constituted, organised or financed the conspiracy, (b) importation of psychotropic and restricted drugs (ecstasy) and (c) possession of the same drug without special authorisation. In the course of the committal proceedings the Court appointed expert stated that the drugs in question were not ecstasy pills and were not at the time scheduled drugs.
The compilation of the evidence took its normal course without delay and in fact in February 2007 the Bill of Indictment was filed in the Criminal Court against Mr Marsden. On the basis of the evidence given during the compilation of evidence the charges of importation and possession of ecstasy pills with intent to supply same were dropped but the charge of conspiracy to deal in the drug ecstasy was retained so that the Bill of Indictment against Marsden contains a single count of conspiracy to deal in the drug ecstasy.
In the Criminal Court Mr Marsden raised three preliminary pleas among which he pleaded the lack of jurisdiction of the Maltese courts. The same plea had been raised in another case the “Republic vs. Mark Charles Kenneth Stephens”. Defence counsel for Mr Stephens was the same defence counsel appearing for Mr Marsden.
When the case against Mr Marsden was appointed for hearing on the 19th October 2007 the Criminal Court pointed out that the plea of lack of jurisdiction of the Maltese courts was similar to the plea raised in the case “Republic vs. Mark Charles Kenneth Stephens” had decided (on the 17th January 2008) the plea of jurisdiction and rejected his submissions. He however also informed the Criminal Court that there was pending before the “Court of Human Rights” an application by the said Stephens and that judgement was due to be delivered during April 2008. The Criminal Court therefore put off the case to the 15th May 2008 to establish the outcome of the human rights case.
During the sitting of the 15th May 2008 defence counsel for Mr Marsden informed the Court that the accused was withdrawing the plea regarding the lack of jurisdiction of the Maltese courts and filed a note to that effect in the records of the case. Oral submissions were then made on the remaining pleas. The case was put off to the 29 September 2008 for judgment on the remaining preliminary pleas.
In the meantime the Criminal Court denied bail to the accused and in its decision declared that it was ready to appoint Mr Marsden’s case for hearing before a jury at the earliest opportunity either after a definitive judgment on his preliminary pleas is given or after these pleas are disposed of in any other manner. On account of the fact that it had the preliminary pleas to the 9th June 2008 and on theat date gave its judgment on the remaining preliminary pleas. The Court rejected all the accused’s preliminary pleas. The accused Marsden gave notice of appeal on the same date and eventually appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeal. The Criminal Court, therefore, could not according to law proceed to hear the trial by jury of the accused Marsden and is now awaiting the outcome of the appeal filed by the accused on the preliminary pleas.
Mr James Debono reported that “The international lobby claims that the prosecution has continually postponed court proceedings, thus keeping Steven Marsden in prison for nearly two years while trial dates have been cancelled”. The above chronology of events gives the lie to the said claims. When the proceedings were postponed and trial dates cancelled these have been caused by pleas raised and proceedings taken by Mr Steven Marsden and not at the instance of the prosecution. Both the so called “international lobby” and the BBC are fully aware of the above facts. Yet they gleefully continue to close their eyes and ears as if they were not aware of the said facts, so much so that neither makes the least reference to them: facts, as distinct from speculation, do not seem to be of much interest to the BBC or to Fair Trial International.
Mr James Debono refers also to a previous report when Malta Today reported that “Fair trial International… denounced the Maltese authorities for pursuing this case despite Steven Marsden having committed no offence under Maltese law.” I have always understood that in Britain, as in Malta, whether a person has committed an offence under the law, whether Maltese or British, is something to be decided by the courts of the land and not by some NGO. Indeed, the Fair Trial which the mentioned organization purports to uphold is precisely the due process before an independent and impartial tribunal and not trial by NGOs and the Press.
As for the plant Khat to which reference is made by Raphael Vassallo this contains the chemicals cathinone and cathine and these are among the chemicals which are listed respectively in Part A and Part B of the Third Schedule to the Medical and Kindred Professions Ordinance.

Silvio Camilleri
Attorney General