Tortured prison warder seeks compensation for lengthy court case

The former prison warder who was awarded over €186,000 in compensation after he was tortured by two police superintendents yesterday filed a constitutional application seeking damages for the "excessive time" his court cases took to be concluded.

Anthony Mifsud, who was in his 20s at the time, had been wrongfully charged over the 1982 prison escape of Louis Bartolo and Ahmed Khalil Habib.

Mr Mifsud had been arrested, tortured and wrongfully charged with corruption and complicity in the notorious escape after a "confession" he made when interrogated by former police superintendents Carmelo Bonello and Joseph Psaila. He was even held at gunpoint by one of the police officers.

Mr Mifsud had been acquitted in a trial by jury but spent three years in prison awaiting trial, a substantial part of which in solitary confinement.

In the application filed against the Attorney General, he said he had been arrested on June 11, 1982 and spent until June 15 in custody.

He was then charged and refused bail and remained under arrest until June 19, 1985 when he was acquitted. Following his release, he had filed a civil case in 1987 to seek compensation and the Constitutional Court found that his rights to a fair hearing within a reasonable time had been violated.

His right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty had also been violated and he was awarded €186,349.87 on October 30, 2008.

He has yet to receive payment.

Mr Mifsud said the delay in the conclusion of the Constitutional Court case was unjustified and had caused him damages for which he was seeking compensation. He also asked the court to declare that the time he had spent under preventative arrest violated his human rights. He is also seeking compensation in this regard.

Lawyer Tonio Azzopardi signed the application.