Charlot Zahra
The Maltese government has been found guilty of violating the human rights of a British drug suspect extradited to Malta from Spain almost five years ago.
On Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights held by six votes to one that a violation of the right to liberty and security of 46-year-old Mark Stephens had occurred, on account of the complainant having been detained unlawfully for ten days, after his arrest order had been declared unlawful.
The case concerns a drug haul of three kilos of cocaine and 7,000 ecstasy pills in the 2003 arrest of Britons Gregory Eyre and Susan Molyneaux, arrested in Malta after leaving Spain and passing through London Gatwick airport.
Investigations led to the arrest of Mark Stephens, who was identified as the mastermind of the operation. According to Eyre’s statements to the police, Stephens has family in Malta.
In his complaint to the ECHR, Stephens said he was detained in Spain on the basis of an unlawful order issued in Malta, and could not appeal against judicial decisions on the lawfulness of his detention.
The Court confirmed the unlawfulness of the order but said he had not been denied the right to appeal for his release while in detention. The Court awarded him €500 in non-pecuniary damages and €1,000 for costs and expenses.
In a second case he lodged, Stephens said the Maltese courts did not address the issues raised by his lawyer, in particular whether Malta had jurisdiction to try him.
The Court found no violation of his right to liberty and security. But one of the two dissenting judges, Maltese judge Giovanni Bonello, said he felt “compelled to vote for a violation (of the plaintiff’s rights) as I believe the facts of the case fully justified this vote. I fight back a chilling doubt that this judgment has inflicted a blow to the protection of individuals against arbitrary arrest and detention, far more critical than a superficial reading might suggest.”
Drug charges
Stephens was arrested in Spain on 5 August 2004 following a request for his extradition by the Maltese authorities, on suspicion that he had conspired with others in Spain to transport drugs to Malta.
While detained in Spain, Stephens brought proceedings in Malta, claiming his arrest warrant had been unlawful, because the court issuing it was not competent to do so; and that Malta did not have jurisdiction to try him. The Court of Magistrates dismissed his claims.
The Civil Court (in its Constitutional jurisdiction) upheld them on appeal, partly finding the arrest order unlawful since the court that issued it was not competent to do so. It ordered that compensation be paid to Mr Stephens and that he be released.
But it also said Malta had jurisdiction to try him even if the crime had been committed in Spain.
Stephens then appealed to the Constitutional Court, which on 23 November 2004 annulled the Civil Court’s judgment that ordered his release, as it found that where a person was not detained in Malta, his release could not be ordered by Maltese courts. It held it was not competent to decide on the question of jurisdiction as that was a matter for the criminal courts.
But it did uphold the Civil Court’s finding that the arrest warrant was unlawful since the court was not competent to issue the warrant, and confirmed the compensation granted to Stephens.
Released on bail, Stephen was arrested again in Spain on 1 December 2004 on continuation of the previous extradition proceedings and finally extradited to Malta on 9 September 2005. He was sentenced to prison in Malta on the drug charges in January 2008.
Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below. Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.
Search:
MALTATODAY
BUSINESSTODAY
Download MaltaToday Sunday issue front page in pdf file format
All the interviews from Reporter on MaltaToday's YouTube channel.
