A contractor has been released from jail on a judge’s orders in a rare interim measure provided until his constitutional case claiming his imprisonment was in breach of his rights is heard and decided.

Paul Demicoli was one of two men jailed for having caused the death of two women through negligence when a building in St Paul’s Bay collapsed during excavations on an adjoining plot.

The case dates back to June 3, 2004 when a block of apartments on Triq Ramon Perellos collapsed at around 3.30pm as a result of construction works next door.

Hours later, as rescue workers searched through the rubble on the site, they discovered the dead bodies of Maria Dolores Zarb and Nadezda Vavilova.

Demicoli had originally been condemned to a three-year jail term in 2009 but had the sentence reduced to two years on appeal last November.

Kevin Bonnici, the worker who had been carrying out excavation works on site earlier that day, was sentenced to 18 months.

Demicoli was taken to Corradino Correctional Facility immediately after sentencing but filed a constitutional case shortly after, claiming that his imprisonment was breaching his rights and requesting an interim measure.

He told Mr Justice Francesco Depasquale, presiding over the First Hall of the Civil Courts in its constitutional jurisdiction that he considered it “disgraceful and shameful” that his criminal case took 18 years to be decided and he was still condemned to an effective jail term.

He said that while he understood that it was a serious incident this did not justify a breach “in the most obvious way” of his right to be tried within a reasonable time according to the Constitution and the European Convention of Human Rights.

Demicoli also said that the victims’ relatives had testified in court proceedings and had asked it not to impose effective imprisonment, but the court still decided otherwise.

He argued that through his imprisonment, he was suffering serious and irremediable prejudice, arguing that there were the necessary elements for the court to hand down a provisional measure whereby he is allowed out of prison pending the outcome of the proceedings.

Mr Justice Depasquale noted that Zarb’s daughter, Marie Diane Mulè Stagno, had declared she had forgiven Demicoli and Bonnici in “a decision based on choice, will and faith” and that she would have preferred that they were given community work rather than imprisonment.

He also pointed out that although the Attorney General’s Office argued that the practice usually adopted by the courts in cases of court delays is that a person is given financial compensation for such a violation, this was only one of the various remedies that the court could opt for.

He, therefore, decided it was “fair and equitable” to provide the interim measure and order Demicoli’s release from prison until the case is decided.

He made it clear that this decision was not to have any weight and effect on the final decision which will be given only after the relevant evidence of the case was heard.

The judge ordered that Demicoli be released from custody after depositing €5,000 and making a personal guarantee of €50,000.

He also ordered Demicoli not to leave Malta for any reason, to deposit his identity card and passport in court and sign the bail book every Wednesday.