BREAKING: Yorgen Fenech’s Bail Request Refused
Judge Giovanni Grixti has rejected a bail request by Yorgen Fenech arguing that the risk of him fleeing the island or committing other crimes was real and could not be ignored.
Fenech’s lawyers submitted their latest bail request on Monday, with Grixti presiding over a sitting yesterday to hear submissions. The judge said he would issue a decree from his chambers.
In their arguments in favour of bail, Fenech’s lawyers insisted there were no longer any fears that Fenech might tamper with evidence or indeed try to escape.
They also pointed to a provision of the law stating that the accused must be released on bail if proceedings against them take more than 20 months.
In his decree this afternoon, Grixti said the Attorney General was right in his assessment that the 20-month period had not been exceeded since the clock is stopped every time the acts of the case are with the Attorney General.
“The accused is therefore not right when he says that he has been held for 20 months in terms of Article 575 of the Criminal Code,” observed the judge.
Moreover, he said that the fact that the Bill of Indictment was filed yesterday morning meant that a new 20-month period started as of today.
Fenech’s request was denied hours after it was revealed that Grixti had purchased a 50-foot boat from Fenech’s father George.
Concerns were raised after the judge yesterday said he would be decreeing on bail from his chambers, with legal sources observing that it was no longer possible for Fenech to be granted bail given that the Bill of Indictment had been filed.
The decision to even appoint the case was seen as strange by observers.
The judge dismissed the Attorney General’s assertion that the court was not competent, procedurally speaking, to decide the request.
He noted that the fear of Fenech attempting to escape the country was a real one, given that it was clear from his behavior before his arrest that he was planning to do so.
Moreover, he added that the fact that Fenech’s mother had offered to act as guarantor did not allay the court’s fears, “especially considering what was revealed by the Attorney General”.
“This added to the fear that the accused may commit other crimes while he is freed, as well as his connections to people abroad,” observed the judge.
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