A prison inmate with kidney failure asked for temporary release on humanitarian grounds more than two months ago but has not yet received a reply from the Office of the President, as the authorities await the outcome of a constitutional case.

Meanwhile, Christopher Bartolo from Gozo, a convicted drug trafficker, spends three days a week in hospital on dialysis machines and his condition is deteriorating, according to his doctors.

The President is empowered by law to grant such requests on the advice of the Justice Minister, but sources said she was still not in a position to act because this advice has not yet been forthcoming.

“In this case, despite reminders, Minister Owen Bonnici has not yet acted and provided the President with his advice,” a source close to the Office of the President told The Sunday Times of Malta.

Dr Bonnici confirmed he had not yet delivered the advice but assured The Sunday Times of Malta that he was giving the request his “full attention”.

Citing an appeal filed to a constitutional ruling, he said it would be imprudent of him to make any statements to the press about the merits of the request at this stage.

The case he is referring to is Mr Bartolo’s legal battle against his imprisonment for drug trafficking on constitutional grounds. After much procrastination by both Nationalist and Labour governments, the right of arrested persons to have a lawyer present during interrogation was finally introduced in 2016, under an EU directive. In that year, Mr Bartolo, who was still undergoing trial, asked the constitutional court to declare inadmissible the statement he had given to the police in 2013, on the ground he had been denied the presence of a lawyer.

The criminal court however carried on with the trial, despite Mr Bartolo’s request for a suspension pending the outcome of his constitutional plea. He was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison.

Last November, following the guilty sentence, the constitutional court found that Mr Bartolo’s fundamental rights had been breached and upheld his plea, ordering that his statement to the police admitting to drug trafficking be expunged from the court records.

The Attorney General has since appealed this judgment and a final decision is expected in the coming weeks.

That decision may have serious implications for other court cases.

Legal experts said that if the constitutional judgment is upheld on appeal, many declarations made to the police in the absence of a lawyer could be declared in breach of fundamental rights.

These statements normally prove crucial for the prosecution to prove its case in front of a criminal court.

In the meantime, Mr Bartolo is still hoping for a positive reply from the President of Malta.­­­

Timeline

May 2013: Bartolo gives statement to police.

September 2016: Right to have lawyer at interrogation introduced.

October 2016: Pleads breach of rights and asks constitutional court to declare his statement inadmissible.

April 2017: Criminal court proceeds with trial and convicts Bartolo, sentencing him to five years in prison.

November 2017: Constitutional court upholds breach of rights plea.

November 2017: Attorney General appeals constitutional court ruling.

December 2017: Request made to President for temporary release on humanitarian grounds.

2018: Court of Appeal decision expected soon.

2018: President, Justice Ministry say they are waiting for appeal decision before deciding on humanitarian request.