Murder suspect Yorgen Fenech has filed a 16th request for bail claiming that he has served the longest time in preventive custody on record.

In the application, filed in the Criminal Court, Fenech’s lawyers noted that he was willing to abide by any conditions that included electronic tagging and house arrest in a residence away from the coast apart from signing of the bail book and guarantees.

Fenech, who has been in preventive custody since his arraignment in November 2019, is accused of complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

He noted that five years in preventive custody were equivalent to a jail term and was the longest time a person ever spent in preventive custody.

He noted that he had a clean criminal record and that senior forensic officer Gail Debono had said his behaviour was “trustworthy and obedient”.

His last request for bail was made in August 2023 and was turned down by the court, which said there is still a real fear that he could abscond or interfere with evidence.

Back then, the Court of Criminal Appeal said that the circumstances presented by the Attorney General objecting to bail have not changed, and that any guarantees that Fenech could provide would not assuage fears of absconding.

In 2022 a court found that the repeated denial of bail was not breaching Fenech’s rights.

Lawyers Gianluca Caruana Curran, Marion Camilleri and Charles Mercieca signed the application.