Keith Schembri wants only select parts of his mobile phone data to be handed over to Yorgen Fenech, arguing that his fundamental rights would be breached if the full contents of his device were released by the courts.  

In a court application filed by his lawyers, the controversial former OPM chief of staff called on the courts to restrict the data provided to Fenech’s defence team, to exclude anything that is not of direct relevance to ongoing court proceedings involving police Superintendent Keith Arnaud.  

Handing over all the contents of his mobile device would constitute a breach of his fundamental rights, Schembri's lawyers Edward Gatt and Mark Vassallo argued. 

This, they added is especially true given the series of leaks of mobile phone data in recent months across the media.  

Fenech is awaiting trial for complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Schembri was a close friend of Fenech but has since been implicated by him in the murder. 

He and has his lawyers have been trying to get their hands on chats from Schembri’s phone to back up their case in court. 

The phone in question is not the same device that went offline shortly before Schembri was arrested in late 2019. Schembri claimed to have lost that phone, which has never been retrieved since. 

The police have argued that the phone in question is not relevant to the Caruana Galizia murder case and forms part of an ongoing inquiry.

Fenech’s legal team, however, insists that the phone contains information that is “essential” to their case to have Arnaud, who is leading the murder probe, taken off the case. 

Last month, Mr Justice Lawrence Mintoff ruled in favour of a request by Fenech’s lawyers for all evidence extracted from Schembri’s phone by the police to be handed to them.

The State Advocate this week appealed the judge's decree, raising consternation from the defence team and landing a €500 fine for contempt of court.

The court will next reconvene in the new year on January 12.