The Criminal Court yesterday turned down an appeal by the Attorney General to refuse bail for Victor Philip Bajada, 29.
Bajada and his father Emanuel Bajada, 53, were charged in court with trafficking in humans with the aim of prostitution in May 2005.
They were accused of having organised or financed a group of two persons or more with the aim of committing a criminal act; of having lived totally or partially off the earnings of prostitution; of having organised a brothel; and that as owners or administrators of Adam’s Guesthouse in Ross Street, St Julians, and Pace’s Guesthouse in St Agatha Street, Sliema, allowed these premises to be used for prostitution.
He was granted bail on a personal guarantee of Lm20,000 but was re-arrested after violating the terms of conditions when he left Malta for the UK.
He was later extradited back to Malta under a European Arrest Warrant in February of this year. He was also ordered to pay his personal guarantee of Lm20,000 to the government but was instead remanded in custody for 4,000 days.
On 4 September, he was again given bail on a personal guarantee of Lm10,000 – it was this decree which the Attorney General yesterday asked the Court to revoke.
But Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano yesterday said the considerable delay in hearings, where only two witnesses were heard in seven months, had shown “a great lack of coordination between the Office of the Attorney General and the Executive branch of the Police.”
De Gaetano questioned why proceedings had gone on at such a “snail’s pace”, questioning whether this was due to “a lack of good management” or other shortcomings from the police or the Attorney General’s office.
“What is sure is that proceedings are not moving with expediting rhythm, which is mainly dictated by the prosecution. In these particular circumstances, this Court cannot see why it should revoke bail and re-arrest the accused once again.”
The Chief Justice however allowed a compromise to change the terms of bail, adding that the new terms would reflect the grave nature of the charges against Bajada, who had escaped from the island.
“This Court cannot see what sense imposing a personal guarantee would have when this proved to be ineffectual with the accused last year.”
Instead, the Court declared that Victor Philip Bajada would have to report twice daily at the Qawra police station, between 8:00am-8:30am, and between 4:00pm-4:30pm.
The Court also laid down a curfew of 6:00pm-7:30am, and asked the accused to inform the Court and Inspector Raymond Aquilina of his address in writing.
He also ordered the accused to deposit the sum of Lm10,000 as personal guarantee with the Court.
Four Russian women and another from Kazakstan had pleaded guilty to having knowingly aided and abetted the Bajadas in the alleged running of the brothel.
The Russian women are Evgenia Degtyareva, 26 who said she is a police officer; Natalia Zharenaya, 25, a salesperson; Alla Bobrova, 18 and Irina Voronina, 38, both of them painters and plasterers. Svetlana Kovalenko, 31 an engineer is from Kazakstan.
Dr Chris Cardona appeared for the Bajadas. The prosecution team is made up of Superintendent Alexandra Mamo and Inspectors Raymond Aquilina and Louise Calleja.