Former FIAU official Jonathan Ferris complained in court on Tuesday that the police had not replied to a request he made two years ago to be reinstated.

Mr Ferris was testifying in a constitutional case against Police Commissioner Laurence Cutajar alleging discriminatory treatment and seeking compensation for breach of rights.

Mr Ferris, a former police inspector, had made his request to be readmitted to the Force after being controversially dismissed from the FIAU (Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit).

He recalled when testifying on Tuesday how his long years of service within the police corps had made him an eligible candidate for a managerial post within the FIAU.

The decision to make the move had not been an easy one, however. He had sought a secondment to the Ministry of Finance, even in the light of the fact that some 26 fellow police officers had been granted a similar option since 2013.

Between August and October 2016, he had discussed the matter in several meetings with Police Commissioner Laurence Cutajar, sometimes also in the presence of Assistant Commissioner Mario Spiteri.

He had persistently found resistance to his request but no reasons for such refusal were ever forthcoming.

When he spoke about his service, Mr Ferris said he had been irked by the fact that, while he served in the police Economic Crimes Unit, a member of then Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela had sought sensitive information relating to a particular case he had been investigating at the time. The very nature of his work within the unit did not allow such disclosure, Mr Ferris explained.

Following the termination of his employment at the FIAU, during the probation period, Mr Ferris said he had requested a formal meeting with the police commissioner.

(Mr Ferris requested whistleblower protection following his dismissal and sued the government when it was not granted to him. He also testified in the Magisterial inquiry into the Egrant allegations)

During that meeting, on May 17, 2017, he had requested his reinstatement to the police corps and was told that since he had always served his duties well as a police officer, there ought to be no problem in that regard.

Yet, in spite of some 119 officers having been reinstated since 2013, no reply was to date forthcoming in his case.

The case continues. Lawyers Andrew Borg Cardona, Therese Comodini Cachia, Jason Azzopardi and Evelyn Borg Costanzi are assisting the applicant.