On 9 September 2003, Eucharist Baldacchino was arrested, together with another nine people, and charged with being part of a violent outburst of rebellion, resisting and slightly injuring police, causing damage and breaching the peace by using indecent and obscene language.
Mr Baldacchino was simply watching the regatta when the incident took place. The application filed yesterday said that during the race, one of the boats hit the Marsamxett boat, which subsequently lost the race. The spectators revolted and went into a reserved area in which there were trophies and the winner’s shield.
These people broke the trophies and threw them into the sea. They refused to obey the police who had to forcefully intervene to calm the situation. Mr Baldacchino was accused of being one of these people and was remanded in custody for four days.
During the course of the proceedings it was discovered, through police testimonies, that no one had seen Mr Baldacchino doing anything illegal.
The only justification given for Mr Baldacchino’s arrest was discredited by superintendent Charles Magro’s testimony. The police had said Mr Baldacchino was seen in video footage taken of the incident, but in his testimony, Mr Magro said, “Eucharist Baldacchino cannot be seen in the video”.
In November 2003 a magistrate’s court acquitted Mr Baldacchino of all the charges against him regarding this case. The application filed yesterday noted that the compilation of evidence showed that the police were aware that Mr Baldacchino had no involvement in the violent outburst.
The court that acquitted Mr Baldacchino said it was worrying that a man was wrongly accused of such a large number of crimes, including assaulting police officers.
The man was kept in custody for four days without any concrete proof of his involvement in the incident. The application claimed the man’s arrest was illegal and unreasonable, especially considering he was not granted bail after pleading not guilty at his arraignment.
The law states that anyone who suffers an illegal arrest is entitled to compensation. In view of this, Mr Baldacchino demanded that the court declare his arrest to be unreasonable. He also asked for compensation for the damage he suffered by being detained for four days and having his rights breached.
The application was filed in the first hall of the Constitutional Court by Dr Jason Azzopardi and Dr Roberto Montalto.