George and Alfred Degiorgio did not suffer a breach of fundamental rights when they were repeatedly denied bail after their arraignment in December 2017 and accused of the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, a court has ruled. 

The Degiorgio brothers had filed an application claiming that the denial of bail amounted to arbitrary arrest and also breached their right to a fair hearing and protection against discrimination.

No less than eight applications for bail between April 2018 and March 2020 were turned down, leading the Degiorgios to conclude that the criminal courts were “totally averse” to granting them bail.

Alfred and George Degiorgio seen at the time of their arrest in December 2017.

When delivering judgment the First Hall, Civil Court in its constitutional jurisdiction, presided over by Madam Justice Joanne Vella Cuschieri said it had closely analysed the various bail requests and relative decrees.

In the early phase of the murder compilation, evidence was still being gathered and the accused were deemed untrustworthy.

Later decrees had rejected the bail requests because the murder probe was still ongoing, third parties were still being investigated and the accused’s behaviour, even in jail, was deemed untrustworthy, the court said. 

Considering the “wider picture” the courts were justified in denying bail, said Madam Justice Vella Cuschieri, adding that the constitutional court did not agree with the applicants claim that the courts had failed to strike a balance between the risks perceived and their right to freedom from arrest.

As for their claim that the state could achieve a balance by introducing electronic tagging for inmates, the court observed that so far, such tagging was only applied by prison authorities in respect of convicted inmates, not those still awaiting judgment. 

The Degiorgios also argued that unlike the Attorney General, the accused had no right to appeal bail decisions and that too, was a breach of rights.

But the court said that although the law did not allow such appeal, the Degiorgios had made ample use of the right to file several requests for bail before different magistrates.

Moreover, they had been granted bail by a magistrate in separate money-laundering proceedings, although it was subsequently revoked upon appeal by the AG, the court observed, concluding that the applicants had suffered no breach of rights.

Lawyer William Cuschieri assisted the Degiorgios.