The daughter of the late Baron Francis Sant Cassia is claiming that her fundamental rights were breached through delays in investigating and prosecuting her father’s murder, so that now no one will shoulder responsibility for shooting him dead.

Earlier this month a judge ruled that the man accused of the 1988 murder - Carmel Camilleri -  is unable to stand trial for health reasons, postponing the trial indefinitely. He was arrested in 2006 but the trial was repeatedly put off. 

The alleged hitman had admitted to the murder in his statements which were subsequently declared inadmissible in evidence because he was unassisted by a lawyer when he was questioned by police.

On Friday Chiara Sant Cassia filed a judicial protest filed against the State Advocate, the Attorney General and the Police Commissioner, flagging various shortcomings by the authorities.

She has previously spoken out about the "shameful" delay in bringing the case to trial. 

Investigations and prosecution of the murder which took place 35 years ago on the grounds of Castello Zamitello dragged on in such a manner that now the man who had admitted under interrogation to his role as hitman would now escape justice, she said.

Moreover, after all these years, the mastermind remained unidentified. 

All this signified a violation of her fundamental right to life as safeguarded under article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights and article 33 of the Constitution. 

That right did not only place a duty upon the State not to take persons’ lives and to protect life, but also to investigate any murder in an adequate and immediate manner. 

Lack of information

Proceedings were to be handled with “relative expediency” too, claimed Sant Cassia’s lawyers. 

In this case, his daughter had not been kept abreast with progress in the investigation and prosecution relating to her father’s murder and that, in itself, constituted a violation of her fundamental right.

Article 2 of the Convention states that the victim’s relatives are to be involved in the proceedings up to such a degree as is necessary to safeguard their legitimate interests. 

The alleged hitman's health has deteriorated to such an extent that he is now in a “precarious” state and unable to answer to the charges, a court ruled. For this reason, his trial may only be reappointed if his condition were to improve. 

However, all this meant that no one would shoulder responsibility for this “brutal” murder and the victim’s family would not get justice on account of such “dragging of feet and other shortcomings” by the authorities.

Sant Cassia’s daughter was bringing all this to their formal notice and unless they acknowledged such claims and stepped forward with compensation for the breach of rights, she would take further legal action accordingly.

Lawyers Stefano Filletti, Matthew Cutajar, Evelyn Borg Costanzi and Nicole Galea signed the judicial protest.