An Italian man, who is charged with money laundering at the detriment of Casino di Venezia, filed an application before the First Hall of Civil Court in its Constitutional Jurisdiction saying that his fundamental rights have been breached as a key defence witness was not allowed to testify in the proceedings against him.

Gaetano Caramazza, 58, from Palermo, filed the application against the Prime Minister, the Attorney General and the Police Commissioner. He said that his right to a trial within a reasonable span of time has also been breached.

He, along with another Italian and a Slovenian, is being charged with defrauding the casino of Lm75,000 through the use of counterfeited bank documents and cheques. He is also charged with forging signatures and documents at detriment of the same casino.

Mr Caramazza said he has a right to a fair trial as stipulated by the Maltese Constitution and the European Convention on Fundamental Human Rights. He said his trial has been suspended by the Court of Magistrates, and he is suffering hardship because of this delay.

He added that if he had been given bail, the Attorney General would still refer the case to another court, an option which Mr Caramazza said he no longer has.

The Italian was originally granted bail, but he was jailed for four months after he breached the bail conditions.

Lawyers Jose Herrera and Veronique Dalli signed the application.