A man who was extradited to Malta to face domestic violence charges ended up walking away on Thursday after the alleged victim informed the court she did not want the case against him to continue. 

The man, a 36-year-old Moroccan national was accused of causing his former partner to fear violence, threatening her and injuring her slightly.

The report was made more than a year ago. Unable to locate the accused in Malta, the police traced him to Spain and duly issued a European Arrest Warrant to have him extradited to Malta to face charges. 

However, it was only in court - after the police had gone to the trouble of finding the accused and bringing him to face justice - that the victim communicated that she had no intention of testifying against him.

Inspector Christian Cauchi said the woman had told police she had been in a relationship with the accused for a number of years and that he had been obsessed with her.

She also said he had made a number of threats against her, including calling her “dirty” and that he would “drain her of all her blood” and “kill her and dump her where she would never be found”. 

The man - a chef by profession - pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Appearing for the alleged victim, lawyer Yanica Barbara Sant informed the court that despite this, the woman wished to retract her report and did not wish for proceedings to continue. 

When asked to take the witness stand, the woman confirmed she was still in love with the accused and claimed she had tried to contact the police inspector several times to tell him she wanted to drop the report. However, she was unable to reach him. 

The woman said she was frequently “jealous” of the accused and had a mental health condition she was receiving psychiatric care for that had caused her to “make a fuss” and react very negatively to things. 

Defence lawyer Franco Debono said that, while he commended the police for following through with the report and doing their job, at this stage it had to be acknowledged that the accused had gone through this whole ordeal only for the alleged victim to recant her report.

While there was no point in making a fuss about it at this stage, the woman’s request to have the charges dropped should be respected, he added.

The court’s frustration at how the case had unravelled was also made clear during proceedings. 

“Do you realise how much money was spent on hauling this man back to Malta?” Magistrate Charmaine Galea said. 

“People have to understand that when reports are filed capriciously, thousands of euros are spent.” 

The woman again said she had tried to call the inspector several times to inform him but had never gotten in touch with him.

When asked by Cauchi if she had ever gone to ask for him at the police station, she retorted: “Why should I have to go to the police station?”

She had to be silenced from commenting further as her agitation grew. 

The magistrate informed the woman that if she dropped the report, the court would not be able to offer her any more protection and admonished her again about filing spurious reports.

“Your actions today wasted a lot of money, resources and work.

"You of course have a right to do so, but keep in mind the amount of work that was involved in all of this,” she said.

Police Inspector Christian Cauchi prosecuted. 

Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri appeared for the accused. 

Lawyer Yanica Barbara Sant appeared parte civile for the woman.