Mohammed Sharfid, who was convicted of committing a robbery in Sliema in May 2001, today had his charges overturned by Mr Justice Giovanni Grixti who ruled that the first court had ignored the defendant’s testimony and that a fire in the court had destroyed a large amount of evidence.

Several items with a total value of over €2,330 had been found missing from an apartment in Sliema. Mr Sharfid had been charged in connection with the case. In his appeal, it was said that the court had ignored a number of key facts due to the fire destroying the evidence. Among the burnt evidence was a technical report from a court-appointed expert including the victim’s testimony.

The appeals court upheld the man’s arguments saying that existence of some of the items stolen was “assumed” and their value “overestimated”. The first court had, in fact, said that a wallet, credit cards, a computer worth €3,700 and a driving licence had gone missing.

In his missing testimony, the defendant had given reasons for why his fingerprints were on the apartment door saying that he used to prostitute himself at the apartment when he needed money. It was also said that his lawyer had not been given the opportunity to cross-examine the victim.

Apart from these facts, the appeals court also noted that the case was transferred to another magistrate, as the initial one had been promoted to judge. Judge Grixti pointed out that, since the defendant’s deposition had not been included in the acts of the case, the first court should have called him in to repeat his testimony.

Mr Justice Grixti, giving all the previously mentioned facts which all worked against the defendant, concluded that the appeals court disagreed with the first court and thus, revoked the appealed sentence and consequently freed Mr Sharfid of any guilt and punishment relating to this particular case.