A man who was jailed in 2009 for acting as a pimp to three underage women has claimed that his human rights were breached because he was 17 and was not assisted by a lawyer when he was interrogated.

The man, whose name cannot be published by order of the court, had been in a relationship with one of the girls. In the original case a court had heard how he had asked her to resort to prostitution because he was poor. The girl had reluctantly agreed. The man had driven the girl to Gzira and gave her 20 condoms, telling her that he would give her another 20 once she had earned €400.  

The girl eventually told her mother, who called the police. During the investigations it had emerged that the man was also acting as a pimp to two other girls. He was arrested in 2009 and was jailed for six years. An appeal is still pending.

In an application filed before the First Hall of the Civil Court in its Constitutional jurisdiction, lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri, Amadeus Cachia and Angie Muscat, argued that the accused was just 17 at the time of his arrest and was not aided by a lawyer when he released his statement since the right had not yet been introduced into law. They called on the court to declare that the fundamental human rights of the accused, in particular that to a fair hearing, had been breached.