A Criminal Court has turned down Lilu King’s latest request for bail since the prosecution has yet to indicate further witnesses and resolve the issue of additional charges it intended to press, seven months after the start of the case. 

The decision comes in the wake of two decrees delivered recently by the Magistrates’ Court presiding over the compilation of evidence against Mohamed Ali Ahmed Elmushraty who stands accused of involvement in organised crime, mainly linked to money laundering and drug trafficking. 

Elmushraty is pleading not guilty.

Since his arraignment in May, his lawyers have filed several requests for bail, repeatedly driving home the fact that although Elmushraty stands accused of involvement in drug trafficking, police lacked sufficient evidence to press drug-related charges against him. 

Prosecutors themselves have acknowledged that no drugs were found in the accused’s possession when he was arrested along with two other suspects in a drug raid at St Julian’s. 

Then suddenly, seven months down the line, the prosecution informed the court presiding over the compilation of evidence that they wanted to add drug trafficking and involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy to Elmushraty’s charge sheet. 

That announcement triggered strong objections by the accused’s lawyers who argued that since the new charges were totally different from the original ones, the prosecution had to start proceedings from scratch. 

That meant that the defence could ask for all witnesses heard so far in the compilation, to testify again.

In the meantime, Elmushraty  could not face fresh proceedings when he had already spent seven months under preventive custody, the lawyers argued. 

Following those submissions the court, presided over by Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, decreed that the prosecution had not followed the proper procedure laid down by law when seeking to press additional charges. 

They had formulated their request verbally rather than in writing, observed the Magistrate, directing the prosecutors to follow the proper procedure. 

On that occasion the Magistrate also directed the prosecution to “definitively indicate the witnesses,” specifically civilians, who were still to testify.

And until that information was supplied, the Magistrate refrained from delivering a decision on bail and remitted the acts back to the Attorney General’s Office. 

Meanwhile on Wednesday, defence lawyers Franco Debono and Jose’ Herrera filed another bail application before the Criminal Court, presided over by Mr Justice Neville Camilleri.

On Friday, after hearing further submissions by both parties, the judge delivered a decree observing that the court had taken note of events before the Magistrates’ Court, particularly during the last two sessions. 

The court also took note of previous bail decrees in Elmushraty’s case and observed that the prosecution had not yet indicated the witnesses who were still to testify and also to follow proper procedure as directed by Magistrate Frendo Dimech. 

Since the court deemed that those issues ought to be resolved first and also because of the fear of tampering with evidence, it was turning down the request for bail. 

Lawyers Franco Debono and Jose’ Herrera are defence counsel.