A kidney transplant patient who was released from prison pending an appeal will be seeking to resume his studies at MCAST and to find a job, his lawyer, Franco Debono, said yesterday.

Christopher Bartolo was temporarily released from prison on Tuesday evening, after the President, acting on the advice of cabinet, made use of a rarely used clause in the Criminal Code to grant bail to a prisoner on exceptional circumstances.

Bartolo, 37, was sentenced to five years in prison for drug trafficking in 2013. He had been caught with 167 grams of cannabis. At the time he was going through the process of having a kidney transplant, after both his kidneys had failed. He was arrested after spending six hours hooked up to a dialysis machine. His transplanted kidney failed while he was serving his prison sentence, and the man has to receive dialysis treatment every three days.

Speaking to The Malta Independent, Bartolo’s lawyer Franco Debono said that although he had not seen the conditions of bail himself he was informed that Bartolo was planning to return back to MCAST to continue his studies and is looking for a job in the meantime.

He explained that Bartolo was effectively out on bail, meaning that there were conditions attached. He said, however, that Bartolo was not under house arrest.

The lawyer explained that he had made use of a provision in the law that applied for very special circumstances, such as a serious medical condition. “I think that this might be the first time this clause has been invoked,” Debono said.

He explained that, as Bartolo’s lawyer, he had written to the President of the Republic, who then referred the matter to cabinet. According to the clause, he said, the President can grant prisoners bail on humanitarian grounds, but must first seek cabinet’s consent. Cabinet agreed to releasing Bartolo on bail pending the upcoming appeal, Debono said, adding that even the Opposition had been supportive.

Asked if this was setting a precedent, the lawyer said he did not feel that this was the case, because the provision can only be used in exceptional circumstances.

“I have represented thousands of clients over the years but this is the first time that I have encountered a case that might make use of such a provision. It is not very likely that we will have another case like this one anytime soon,” he said. “We are speaking here about someone who lost both his kidneys and had a transplant, which was also unsuccessful.”

Bartolo’s lawyers are appealing his conviction, saying that it was secured on the basis of a confession subsequently deemed to be invalid by a Constitutional Court, which has ordered a retrial.  

They argue that the Bartolo used cannabis for self-medication to relieve the pain caused by his renal conditions. Furthermore his confession came after he had undergone long-hours of interrogation and a six-hour dialysis session at Mater Dei. He was denied a lawyer at least once and he was not offered any good or drink whilst being interrogated.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Amadeus Cachia and Marion Camilleri are counsel to Christopher Bartolo.