Inquiry delayed

The inquiry into the Simshar sinking could be stalled for months while sole survivor Simon Bugeja challenges a decision barring him from having his lawyer present when he is questioned again over the tragedy.

Last Thursday, inquiring Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna turned down Mr Bugeja's request to have his lawyer present when he is interrogated for the second time since the inquiry into the Simshar's mysterious sinking began seven months ago. Over the past months, the inquiry has increasingly focused on Mr Bugeja, after investigations revealed discrepancies between his story and other evidence.

Sources close to the inquiry told The Sunday Times that a number of questions had been raised in relation to Mr Bugeja's version of events, particularly with regard to the location of the vessel. Four people died during the ill-fated fishing trip last July, including Mr Bugeja's 11-year-old son Theo, his 61-year-old father Carmelo, Noel Carabott, 33, and Somali national Abdulrahman Abdala Gedi, 21.

Mr Bugeja was due to be questioned by the inquiring magistrate in late January but the appointment was delayed after he filed a request for lawyer Robert Abela to be present.

Last week, the magistrate decided to turn down Mr Bugeja's request but did not set a date for the interview, which has been put off indefinitely to allow his lawyer time to institute a Constitutional case.

The presence of the lawyer for such an investigation is not an automatic right under Maltese law, but it is understood that Dr Abela, who could not be contacted for a comment yesterday, will be claiming a breach of his client's right to a fair hearing.

Before January, Mr Bugeja's interviews had been put off for some weeks because of the psychological treatment he was receiving for trauma.

The fisherman, who owned the Simshar, had said he hung on to a makeshift raft for eight days before being spotted by a rescue party made up of fishermen. He said his son was with him throughout but slipped from his grasp just hours before the rescue. The boy's body was never found.

Mr Bugeja had told rescuers that his vessel had sunk following an explosion on July 11, four days after it had set sail from Marsaxlokk.

He was not able to explain what had caused the blast, however, fuelling rumours that the group could have been attacked by Sicilian fishermen or that they were carrying explosives to use for fishing.

mmicallef@timesofmalta.com