The mother of Daniel Holmes, the Welshman serving a 10-year prison sentence for a drug conviction, has issued a fresh appeal for 'justice'.

Holmes was also fined €23,000 for cultivating about a kilo of cannabis, although there has since been controversy over how the weight of the plant was calculated.

"Once again I feel I must write in the hope that there will be a review of the case of my son, Daniel Holmes,"  his mother Kate Holmes said in a statement.

The case, she said, had attracted much attention from all over the world.

"The vast majority of people who have read the details of his case offer understanding and compassion for our situation, from government ministers and MPs to anyone who can appreciate that sentencing a man to 10.5 years imprisonment and a heavy fine for a victim-less crime is wrong.

"We cannot believe it possible that our son is wasting his life in prison when President Obama is reviewing and releasing criminals early from their drug related sentences, when America has declared that marijuana can play an important part in medical use in a range of conditions, including cancer and has approved new medical marijuana legislation."

Frenc tal-Gharb, she said, had cured many sick people in Malta and Gozo during his life time and his secret medicine is now known to be cannabis. President Obama recently described marijuana as “no more dangerous than alcohol”.

Frenc tal-Gharb, she said, had cured many sick people in Malta and Gozo during his life time and his secret medicine is now known to be cannabis

"When so many countries in Europe are reviewing their drug laws and legalising marijuana, why will Malta not reconsider the effect of imprisonment on Daniel and his family, and others jailed for drug offences?"

Mrs Holmes said Daniel has already spent five years in prison on Malta, one of which was for a crime he was later cleared. In that case, the family has gone to court and is asking the authorities to allow this year to count towards his sentence.

Daniel's sentence, she said, was a punishment to all of his family.

"I think most people will understand the suffering that we, his parents, have had to bear and it is we who will have to pay his fine and court costs, as we have already paid his legal fees. Daniel has no assets, there was never any evidence showing he had any money," she insisted.

She said Damiel's father suffered a stroke last February and he doubts that he will ever see his son freed.

"His wife shows incredible strength and fortitude in an intolerable situation and Daniel’s daughter has spent her four Christmases without her father and doesn’t understand why. He spent part of his Christmas day washing his clothes and bedding in a bucket in his cell and trying to dry them there. This is not justice.

The procedure and evidence presented in the courts was flawed....

"The procedure and evidence presented in the courts was flawed. At the very least, the fact that the whole of the Cannabis plants Daniel was growing was weighed and submitted as evidence – the stems, leaves and roots – although it is only the buds which are the useable part. There were two people growing the plants but after the suicide of Barry Lee, his part in the crime was ‘forgotten’.

"Daniel pleaded guilty only as he was offered a ‘plea bargain’ and given five minutes to make a decision, but this was withdrawn before sentence was passed. These points have been highlighted many times over the years but the problem has not been addressed. This is not justice.

"I believe it is time for his cruel punishment to stop and rehabilitation to begin. We are asking for his early release on humanitarian grounds," Mrs Holmes said.