Three men, who allegedly triggered a massive brawl in Ħamrun earlier this week, were remanded in custody upon arraignment on Friday afternoon. 

Ibrahim Flej, 33, Ismael Rajih, 32 and Kacem Al Flieg, 23, all sharing the same Qormi address, were escorted to court after being tracked down over their alleged involvement in the “big commotion” that broke out at around 1 pm on Tuesday. 

Two Syrian brothers, Saoud and Naief Mahmoud, were arraigned on Thursday and were also denied bail. 

Today, the court heard how last Tuesday, officers at the Ħamrun police station heard a lot of shouting outside. 

They went out to check and saw many people rushing in one direction. 

Heading in that direction, a short distance away from the station, the policemen came across a “large scale commotion,” with people locked in a scuffle. 

Four men were arrested and escorted to the police station for questioning. 

Two of them were subsequently released. 

The other two, who bore visible signs of injury, were taken to the polyclinic, explained prosecuting Inspector Sarah Kathleen Zerafa. 

Footage from the scene of the brawl led to the identification of three other suspects, namely the trio arraigned on Friday. 

They had arrived in Ħamrun in a van which they parked some way off from the site where the incident took place. 

They stepped out of the vehicle and lingered nearby, apparently waiting.

Then suddenly, all three dashed in the direction of the area where the fight broke out. 

That footage did not capture the fight but at one point, Ibrahim returned to the van, drew out a piece of wood and headed back in the direction of the fight scene.

That wooden object was the same one police seized when they stepped in to break up the fight, the prosecutor said. 

The suspected trio were arrested and interrogated.

On Friday they pleaded not guilty to slightly injuring Saoud, inciting a gathering of ten or more persons, actively participating in that crowd, speaking foul or indecent language in public and wilful breach of public peace. 

The defence requested bail, arguing that these were summary charges carrying a punishment which did not exceed two years imprisonment. 

The accused had untainted criminal records, a fixed address and jobs.

Moreover, there was no risk of tampering with evidence since the alleged victims were currently in jail, under preventive custody, argued lawyer Frank Anthony Tabone. 

The prosecution objected since the alleged victims and other eyewitnesses were still to testify. 

Saoud was initially reluctant to tell police that he had suffered the blows. 

The brawl appeared to have stemmed from some unresolved issue regarding payments related to work that the parties had undertaken. 

Saoud did not even want to go to the polyclinic at first, but later explained that he had received the first blow on the head from Ibrahim.

Parte civile lawyer Matthew Xuereb pointed out that there were civilian witnesses, including a veteran lawyer and Saoud’s partner, who were still to testify. 

His clients had been charged when they were the victims, said the lawyer. 

After hearing submissions the court, presided over by Magistrate Joseph Gatt, turned down the request for bail given the nature of the charges and the fact that civilians were still to testify.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri were defence counsel.