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Magistrate Applied Wrong Law In Jogger Matteo Grima Case, AG Argues In Latest Appeal

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The attorney general’s (AG) office appealed the case of Matteo Grima, arguing that the magistrate who let the driver off the hook due to charges being time-barred misapplied the law.

Grima spent two weeks in a coma and was left with permanent injuries after being run over by a car driven by 64-year-old Raymond Camilleri while jogging in Rabat. 

Yet, in September, magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace cleared Camilleri of all charges, concluding that he is not guilty due to the charges being time-barred.

AG Lawyer Antoine Agius Bonnici filed an application in the court of appeal, insisting that the magistrate applied the wrong law.

Stafrace decided this conclusion according to an article of the criminal code under which Camilleri was not charged, the AG argued.

The driver was acquitted according to article 328 which is about causing a fire or damage to property through imprudence, negligence, or unskilfulness in a trade or profession or through non-observance of any regulation – the appeal states.

In this case, the time-barring period is two years.

However, Camilleri was not being charged with these offences – he had been charged under articles 218, 225, and 226 which deal with causing death or serious injuries through negligence, imprudence, or unskilfulness. 

In these cases, the time-barring period is five years – a big jump from the two of the previously mentioned charges.

The incident happened in April 2020 and Camilleri was served with the charges on July 12th of this year and ordered to appear in court in September.

Considering the nature of the incident after which Grima was left fighting for his life, it’s clear that the charges were related to serious injury, not property damage.

So, Agius Bonnici appealed to the court to rule that the previous court applied the wrong legal provision, and ordered that the case continue.

Grima was 18 when he was run over by the car and in spite of the court ruling, he vowed to keep fighting for justice.

Hear Matteo recount what happened to him in the interview.

What do you make of this development?

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Ana is a university graduate who loves a heated debate, she’s very passionate about humanitarian issues and justice. In her free time you’ll probably catch her binge watching way too many TV shows or thinking about her next meal.

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