A man currently awaiting trial over the alleged rape of a minor three years ago is requesting a psychiatric assessment that may shed light upon his mental state.
The 49-year-old man, standing accused over the rape of the 15-year-old girl, is claiming to have long been suffering from various mental conditions, including depression and anxiety.
Such conditions, added to the shock brought about by his arrest, would have had an effect upon his mental state when releasing his statements during investigations, the man’s lawyers are now arguing.
For this reason, during a sitting in July, the lawyers requested the Criminal Court, presided over by Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera, to appoint a psychiatrist to assess the accused’s state, also, but not limitedly, at the time when those police statements had been recorded in 2017.
The lawyers argued that the Maltese Criminal Code dated back to 1854 and in certain aspects, particularly in respect of mental health, might not adequately cater for present-day realities.
Indeed, certain mental conditions, though not qualifying as insanity, could nonetheless impinge upon the judicial process, the court was told.
Moreover, the law itself allowed the court discretion to do anything necessary “to reveal the truth,” the defence team had argued.
On the other hand, the Attorney General had questioned the fact that the accused had only decided to raise this issue now, adding that a psychiatric assessment now could hardly shed light upon the accused’s mental state three years ago.
After weighing these submissions, the court declared that before taking any decision to appoint a psychiatrist or to assess the admissibility or otherwise of the accused’s statements, it would be appropriate to hear what the accused’s personal psychiatrist had to say about his patient’s condition.
Consequently, the court ordered the specialist to testify at the next sitting and granted the accused two days within which to notify the court about any other psychiatrist he might be consulting.
Lawyers Michael and Lucio Sciriha and Joanne Farrugia are assisting the accused.