One of a group of seven Syrian men arrested last April over suspicious jihadist activity on social media has been granted bail after spending 10 months in preventive custody. 

Ajil Al Muhsen, 21, was arraigned last year alongside six other co-nationals following an anti-terrorism operation which police carried out in cooperation with Europol. 

On April 29, all seven suspects were rounded up during early morning raids and were charged in court two days later, pleading not guilty to spreading extremist propaganda, teaching others how to operate firearms and explosives and also recruiting others to commit terrorist acts.

The court later heard how the accused had fled  their homeland and travelled to Malta in 2017 when Syrian government forces drove out the ISIS terrorist group from the area where they lived. 

While criminal proceedings against the men continue, all remained under preventive custody with several bail applications proving unsuccessful. 

Last August, Al Muhsen together with the other six co-accused filed separate constitutional proceedings claiming that their right to a fair hearing had been breached since their continued arrest was not reviewed fortnightly in terms of law. 

On Tuesday, Al Muhsen’s latest bail request finally proved successful. 

The court, presided over by magistrate Nadine Sant Lia, granted him bail under several stringent conditions which included signing the bail book twice daily and abiding by a curfew between 9pm and 4.30am. 

He was also to deposit €10,000 and bind himself under a personal guarantee of €30,000 and a third-party guarantee of €50,000.

The court prohibited him from communicating with the other co-accused in any manner and placed him under the supervision of a probation officer. 

The case continues. 

Lawyers José Herrera, Franco Debono, Matthew Xuereb and Alex Scerri Herrera are defence counsel.