Murder suspect Yorgen Fenech was denied bail once more on Thursday, with Justice Giovanni Grixti turning down his application following submissions in court on Wednesday.
Fenech stands accused of complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, in a case which the court noted had prompted “vast, complex and intricate” investigations which were still ongoing.
Among the reasons for denying bail, the judge cited the gravity of the crimes Fenech is facing and the "clear danger" of him absconding.
Fenech’s lawyers argued that their client satisfied all criteria to be allowed out on bail, which they noted was the rule and not the exception.
He has been in custody since his arrest in November 2019.
Risk of absconding
In his decree, the judge noted that the attorney general had expressed concern about the risk of the accused fleeing the country.
There was also the risk that Fenech could tamper with evidence or commit other crimes while on bail as well as his links to foreign countries.
The court noted that although Fenech has been in preventive custody for more than 20 months, the period prescribed by law had been interrupted three times because of other cases he had filed.
But in any case, with the bill of indictment issued on Wednesday, the 20-month time window before he would be granted bail automatically, starts afresh, the judge noted.
The court said it was well aware of the local and European jurisprudence on keeping individuals under arrest and the proportionality of this with regard to their human rights.
Earlier on Thursday, Jason Azzopardi, the lawyer for the Caruana Galizia family, wrote to the chief justice to protest against Grixti presiding over the bail hearing because of his alleged connections to the family of the accused.
The judge bought a yacht from Fenech's father in 2008 and Azzopardi claimed Grixti was a family friend.
Lawyers for Fenech retorted that the purchase of a second-hand boat 13 years ago was not a valid reason for the judge to recuse himself from the bail decision.