A 54-year old man from Marsascala who is accused of association in the trafficking of heroin in September 2005 has filed two Constitutional applications, the first calling for a stop of proceedings against him because no evidence had been presented.

The other application is calling on the court to ban use of a recording of statements he gave the police as a means of voice recognition for phone interceptions by the Security Service.

Joseph Lebrun argued that the law at the time did not provide for legal assistance during interrogation. While being held by the police he had given statements without having had the right to consult a lawyer.

The recordings were particularly relevant in this case as the prosecution had presented phone intercepts by the Security Service claiming the voice heard in the recordings was that of the accused.

Mr Lebrun said that voice recognition had become a fact in issue in the court case. He therefore argued that the prejudice he had potentially suffered was not only limited to the statements he had given to the police, but also the recordings of his voice, which could be used for voice recognition purposes, something which he was not aware of at the time.

Mr Lebrun requested the court to declare that use of the recording of his statements for purposes of voice recognition would undermine his rights in terms of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Mr Lebrun also filed another application before the Constitutional Court calling for proceedings against him to be stopped since no new evidence had been presented against him since he was arraigned in 2005.