A renal patient who underwent a kidney transplant in 2014, has been temporarily released from prison after a recommendation by the Cabinet. 

Christopher Bartolo, 37, was being held behind bars after being sentenced to a five-year prison term for drug trafficking.

The Justice Ministry said the Cabinet had decided to recommend to the President that Mr Bartolo be released pending the outcome of an appeal he has filed.

The decision was taken in view of his medical condition.

The release is conditional on Mr Bartolo not leaving his home, except for treatment.  

READ: Kidney patient behind bars turns to President for justice

READ: The curious case of Christopher Bartolo

Mr Bartolo must receive dialysis treatment every three days after his transplanted kidney failed just a few months into a five-year prison sentence.

His conviction was secured on the basis of a confession subsequently deemed to be invalid by a Constitutional Court. 

His lawyers had argued that the Gozitan used cannabis to self-medicate for pain caused by his kidney condition and that he had confessed to police during hours-long interrogations, one of which came after a six-hour dialysis session at Mater Dei.

Investigators denied him access to a lawyer on at least one occasion, and there was no evidence that he had been offered any food or drink while under interrogation.

Last month, Mr Bartolo asked President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca to step in and protect him by granting him bail on humanitarian grounds, with his lawyers citing a rarely-used clause in Malta's criminal clause allowing the president to grant prisoners bail in exceptional circumstances.

Mr Bartolo is assisted by lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Amadeus Cachia.