Two Maltese men and a young Russian woman accused of living off the earnings of prostitution and running a brothel were released yesterday after their arrest was declared invalid.

Ian Camilleri, a 36-year-old estate agent from Sliema, Ernest Pulis, 30 from Paola and Luiza Sharipova, a 21-year-old Russian student, who was said to be Mr Camilleri’s girlfriend, pleaded not guilty to living off earnings made from the prostitution of both foreign and Maltese people. They were also accused of running a brothel from Pace Guest House in Sliema.

Defence attorneys Dr Roberto Montalto and Dr Josè Herrera questioned the validity of their clients’ arrest.

Dr Montalto told the court that according to amendments made in the law, a person must now be specifically told he or she is being arrested. “If they do not hear the words ‘you are under arrest’, no matter how obvious the arrest may be, then the arrest is not valid,” he said. In response to this, Superintendent Alexandra Mamo claimed she had told the three accused not to move as she carried out a search at the Pace Guest House. “I told them not to move and this meant they were under arrest,” she said.

After considering what both sides had said, presiding magistrate Giovanni Grixti ruled in favour of the defence and declared the arrest invalid. The prosecution failed to meet the requirements laid down in law when making the arrest, he said.

Inspectors Raymond Aquilina and Louise Vella were prosecuting together with the superintendent.

The alleged illegal activity at Pace Guest House was noticed by police as being similar to that happening at Adam’s guest house in St Julian’s, said Superintendent Mamo.

A father and son, Emanuel and Victor Bajjada, aged 52 and 27 respectively, were charged with using the St Julian’s guest house as a brothel and living off the earnings of prostitution last Sunday.

The compilation of evidence against the two men began yesterday but, following no opposition from Superintendent Mamo, presiding magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna upheld the defence’s request for the case to be heard behind closed doors.