A man who was cleared of charges pertaining to drug trafficking has appealed for compensation in the First Hall of the Civil Court in its Constitutional jurisdiction, claiming unreasonable delay in final judgment – issued nine years after he had originally been produced in court.

Anthony Joseph Portelli was charged in court on 15 August 1997 on charges related to drug trafficking. On 22 June 2006, the Gozo court had found the accused guilty of the charges pressed against him, fined him e4,660 and was also given a two-year prison term suspended for four years. He subsequently appealed the judgement and was cleared.

Mr Portelli contended that although the charges were serious, it was not an overly complex case and said he felt that nine years was an unreasonable length of time for proceedings to be concluded.

He therefore appealed to the court for financial compensation.