A Romanian was yesterday found guilty of causing the death of a Sudanese man in Paceville and sentenced to seven years in jail from a maximum of 20, after a panel of jurors found he had been provoked.

Antonel Dobre’s wife and sisters sobbed loudly as he was sentenced but he showed no emotion, staring at the ground as the verdict and sentence were being read out.

After a nine-day-long trial and nearly seven hours of deliberation, nine jurors returned with a guilty verdict of 8 to 1 on the charge of grievous bodily harm followed by death.

The jurors said, however, that the crime was “excusable” as it had been provoked by a crime against a person.

By a seven to two majority, jurors decided that he was also guilty of breaching the peace.

Had it not been for the provocation, the crime would not have happened

Had it not been for the extenuating circumstances, Mr Dobre, 29, was facing up to 20 years in jail. The minimum he could have been given under law was six years.

The incident took place on March 17, 2012, at about 6am, when Mr Dobre hit Al Shazliay Saleh, 26 – known as Sunshine – in the face, knowing that the blow would hurt him. The blow caused Mr Saleh to fall and hit his head. He suffered brain haemorrhage and died three days later.

The accused claimed Mr Saleh had elbowed his Romanian friend in the nose while they were in a Paceville club and he was protecting his friend when the Mr Saleh approached them again outside later.

During submissions on punishment, lawyer Nadia Attard, from the Attorney General’s office, had asked for a punishment over the minimum, citing the gravity of the case and the fact that Mr Saleh had left behind a young son and a widow.

But defence lawyer Roberto Montalto told the court he had approached the AG’s office after the Bill of Indictment was drafted, to vary the charge to include provocation as an attenuating circumstance. “The defence has always held that a just and fair punishment would be four years imprisonment,” said the lawyer. “The verdict strongly says that had it not been for the provocation, the crime would not have happened and gives partial responsibility to the victim.”

Lawyer Larry Formosa, appearing in parte civile for Mr Saleh’s heirs, said that while the defence of provocation did not automatically trigger the minimum punishment, the court ought also to assess the level of provocation.

“Had there not been someone who identified the accused, we would not have known the killer till this day,” he said, adding that Mr Dobre had fled the island soon after the incident.

Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi sentenced him to seven years in prison and ordered him to pay €3,100 in court expenses.