Attorney General Peter Grech has accepted a request by the Police Commissioner to reopen a magisterial inquiry into the death of Nicholas Azzopardi while in custody.
The case will be re-examined by the same magistrate who had conducted the original inquiry
“Due to the seriousness of the allegations surrounding the case, I think the matter should be referred back to the magistrate in question,” Dr Grech said.
The case will be re-examined by the same magistrate who had conducted the original inquiry, Antonio Vella, whose job it will be to “see whether the new facts that have come to light have any bearing on his original conclusions”.
This is something the family will contest because the victim’s father, Joseph Azzopardi, has already declared that any further investigation into his son’s death in April 2008 must be completely independent if it were to be of any value.
Magistrate Vella’s original conclusions had been fairly unequivocal, finding that all the evidence corroborated the version given by the police that Mr Azzopardi had leapt off a bastion at the police headquarters’ premises while in custody.
The inquiry’s conclusions went a step further, stating that if all the evidence submitted by the police were discarded, all the other evidence – together with the medical, forensic and mobile phone reports exhibited and the facts – corroborated the version given by the police.
The inquiry had established through CCTV footage and different testimonies that just before Mr Azzopardi jumped, PS Adrian Lia had momentarily left his side to inform his superiors that the man’s wife was in the waiting room.
The procès-verbal established that Mr Lia returned to join Mr Azzopardi and PC Reuben Zammit. As Mr Lia was about to turn the corner, he called out “Rueben” and then spotted Mr Azzopardi jumping over the wall. Before succumbing to the injuries he sustained, Mr Azzopardi alleged he had been brutally beaten by police officers before being flung off the bastion wall.
Four years on, the case was brought back to the fore following the arrest of the former police sergeant, Mr Lia, on charges of theft of about €30,000 from the police headquarters. Mr Lia was one of Mr Azzopardi’s escorting officers
Mr Lia had already courted controversy in 1997 when he claimed to have saved a woman from drowning, only for the claim to subsequently turn out to be false.
His recent arraignment prompted a number of politicians and commentators to question the reliability of his testimony and the outcome of the Azzopardi inquiry, in which Mr Lia’s testimony played a crucial part.
The Attorney General explained: “The magistrate must now ask himself: Had I known these other facts, would my conclusions have been the same?”
Police Commissioner John Rizzo said last week he had asked for the inquiry to be reopened to eliminate “any shadow of doubt” raised following the recent events (Mr Lia’s arraignment). A police statement noted that reopening the inquiry was in the public’s interest and would assure the better administration of justice.
Lawyer Giannella de Marco had some sympathy for Mr Rizzo’s request. “Caesar’s wife must be above all suspicion. The Police Commissioner wants to ensure that not only is everything correct but that everything is seen to be correct, too.”
She, however, wondered whether the request opened a can of worms, setting an uncomfortable precedent for the Attorney General.
“We’ve had many police officers in the dock over the years. Does this mean that any time a police officer is facing criminal charges, their previous testimonies will be questioned?”
Let us let the magistrate go about his work in peace
Dr de Marco’s concern was reflected by a former member of the judiciary, who did not wish to be named, and who insisted that “once an investigation is concluded, it remains closed unless new facts relating to the case come to light”.
Given that Mr Lia’s arrest for theft had nothing to do with Mr Azzopardi’s case, reopening the investigation made little sense, he said.
“Besides, it is a general principle of criminal law that an individual should not be investigated again for something he’d already been exonerated of.”
The Attorney General insists that reopening the investigation need not set a precedent.
“Each case is considered on its own merits,” Dr Grech said. “Should the inquiry’s conclusions be reversed or changed, then that would create a precedent. But let’s let the magistrate go about his work in peace. There is a duty to investigate the case as thoroughly as possible.”