The five suspects charged with assaulting two police officers in Ħamrun last weekend will remain in custody after they were denied bail.

During a court sitting today, the suspects’ defence lawyers requested bail for their clients.

Franco Debono, who is representing Christian Mansueto, argued that his client had never been in trouble with the law and that a denial of bail could suggest the courts were being conditioned by social media responses.

“Even though we have professional duties to defend our clients, as an officer of the court I have no problem publicly declaring my utmost respect for the police force and their work in society,” he commented.

“While I am all out in favour of free expression, God forbid the courts are ever conditioned by social media comments. The Criminal Code states that people can be released on bail if they give sufficient guarantees to appear in court and obey the court-imposed decisions.”

“If some people think that bail means you have been exonerated of a crime, then that’s their problem,” he said.

Mario Mifsud, who is representing Redeemer Aquilina, warned that not all footage has been published by the media and that “the crowd had also chosen Barabbas”.

He downplayed the fact that CCTV cameras from the Strada Rjali restaurant have been removed, arguing that all Ħamrun establishments have their own CCTV systems.

He also argued that the fact his client had disposed of his clothes after the incident did not amount to tampering with evidence and that it was a routine act after a night out.

However, Attorney General lawyer Jennifer Polidano countered that it was routine for people to change clothes after a night out, not dispose of them entirely.

Matthew Xuereb, who is representing Elton and Kurt Borg, warned that his client was the victim of negative media coverage which prejudiced his right to the presumption of innocence and claimed that “third parties” were also involved in the incident.

Arthur Azzopardi, who is representing Erica Borg, said that his client’s actions during the fight have already been preserved on footage and cannot be contradicted by witnesses.

However, Herman Mula, the parte civile lawyer of the two police officers, objected to bail due to the risk of collusion with potential witnesses and the potential disruption of public order.

Magistrate Joseph Gatt refused to grant them bail, which means the suspects will remain in custody for now.