A Tunisian man has been jailed for one year after he was found guilty of accusing a number of policemen of beating him up while he was at Hamrun police station.

Mabrouk Mourad, 28, was charged with accusing a number of police officers of hitting him and using excessive force on him while he was being held at the police station on 1 July 2006.

The court, presided over by magistrate Giovanni Grixti, heard that on 1 July 2006, at around 3am, a number of police officers on duty noticed a man lying on the ground in Hamrun Square, clearly under the influence of alcohol.

When the officers helped him up from the ground, he started yelling, swearing, insulting and threatening them. He was taken to the police station and locked him up until he calmed down.

In the morning, he began accusing the police of beating him up and using excessive force.

The court heard how an internal investigation had revealed that the police had not used excessive force on the accused and that he had invented the story to tarnish their reputations and get them into trouble.

Magistrate Giovanni Grixti jailed Mourad for a year after taking his criminal record into consideration.

Police Inspector Mario Tonna prosecuted.