Daniel Meli saga not over as court upholds AG's appeal
The eleventh-hour request came after the presiding judge began delivering his decision
The Court of Criminal Appeal has sent the records of Daniel Joe Meli’s extradition proceedings back to the Court of Magistrates to decide the case afresh.
The appeal was filed in May, days after the suspected hacker won the months-long court battle to avoid extradition.
The 28-year-old from Żabbar is wanted in the US on charges related to the alleged sale of illegal malware on the dark web between 2012 and 2022. The malware, a remote access trojan (RAT), is used to gain access to computers and servers and control their operation.
Meli was first arrested in February last year in a joint operation between the Malta police and the AG, as well as the FBI and the US Justice Department.
He initially consented to extradition before changing his mind and fighting the request – a move he could make after parliament changed the law last year.
On May 12, the Maltese court dismissed the US extradition request. It ruled that the prosecution failed to meet the required burden of proof under Maltese law, noting a “fairly lax” approach to presenting evidence.
On Wednesday morning, Mr Justice Giovanni Grixti rejected the Attorney General’s request to recuse himself from the case. The eleventh-hour request came after the presiding judge began delivering his decision before the parties made their closing arguments.
Mr Justice Grixti then moved to read out the judgment where he upheld the AG’s grievance relating to documents presented before the Court of Committal – the Court of Magistrates in extradition proceedings.
The Court of Magistrates had ordered that documents presented by prosecution witnesses is expunged because it was not presented under oath. This was raised in the AG’s appeal as one of its grievances and upheld by the Court of Criminal Appeal.
On Wednesday morning, the Court of Criminal Appeal ordered that the records be sent back for the case to be decided again, whilst taking note of the once expunged evidence.
Mr Justice Giovanni Grixti presided over the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Lawyers Daphne Baldacchino, Sean Xerri De Caro and Maria Zerafa Le-Gros appeared for the AG as the Central Authority.
Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi, Franco Debono and Lennox Vella appeared for Meli.