After 10 years in preventative custody, the man accused of the 2005 murder of Sion Grech has filed a human rights case against the state. 

Sion Grech, who was born male but identified as a woman, was reported missing in April 2005 and her decomposed body was found in a field in Marsa a week later. Her body bore 17 stab wounds to the neck and chest.

Facial Mahouachi was singled out in 2013 by a witness at an identification parade as the second man allegedly involved in the murder, and was arrested after being spotted in Valletta.

After spending 10 years in custody Mahouachi was acquitted at trial last year but was declared not guilty of Grech’s brutal murder in January 2023. However, he had been unable to afford his €5,000 bail bond.

Mahouachi claimed that his right to liberty and security, as well as right to a fair hearing in reasonable time was breached. In this application, filed to the First Hall of the Civil Court by lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Francesca Zarb, the court was asked to provide a remedy. The case will begin in 2024.

The plaintiff argues that the compilation of evidence had been needlessly prolonged and Mahouachi’s lawyers claim that his request for a Constitutional reference was neither rejected nor upheld. 

Three years after Grech’s death, the homicide squad received an anonymous letter which allegedly led them to a woman named Jacqueline Rapinett, who was serving time in prison. 

She recounted to the police the events preceding the murder, where she allegedly witnessed Grech arguing with her partner, Ismael Habesh about drugs. Rapinett claimed that Habesh subsequently grabbed Grech by the hair and began beating her, later being joined by another man. They then allegedly carried the victim into the field and stabbed her with knives.

The woman’s testimony was contradicted by forensic evidence, as there were no signs of disturbance at the spot where Grech’s body had been discovered, a medico-legal expert explained. Thus, the star witness’s version was called into doubt.

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Photo credit: MaltaToday