A bill of indictment is expected to be issued against the three men accused of being Daphne Caruana Galizia’s hit men at the 11th hour and just before the 20-month window closes, after which they would be granted automatic bail, well-placed sources speaking to The Malta Independent on Sunday have confirmed.
Fears have been raised that the three accused – brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio, and Vince Muscat – would be granted automatic bail, under the laws of the land, should the attorney general not issue a bill of indictment against them within 20 months.
Having been arrested in December 2017, that term expires in early August.
But sources close to the matter, who have asked to remain anonymous, have insisted that there is no intention to “ever let any of them see the light of day. They want to lock them up and throw away the key.”
The same sources say that the drawing up of the bill of indictment is in progress, and that the attorney general intends to file it at the 11th hour, just before the 20 months elapse. The idea is seemingly to prevent the granting of bail to the accused under any conditions because once a bill of indictment is issued, they could very well be let out on bail.
According to the sources, it is not the delay in the issuing of the bill of indictment that would offer the possibility of bail but, rather, such a delay would ensure they remain behind bars.
“Apart from that consideration,” one source told this newspaper, “the attorney general will do it [issue the bill of indictment] at the last minute so that evidence can be collected up to the last moment.”
There is also the issue of a possible plea bargain, a process that could take place between the between the bill of indictment and prosecution.
The expected move by the attorney general would extinguish continual bids by the defence to delay the case, in a ploy to buy time and eat up the 20-month timeframe in which the bill of indictment needs to be issued, because the presumption of innocence prevents anyone from being held longer than that without being prosecuted.
Presiding Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit ruled, on 21 December 2017, that there had already been sufficient evidence for a bill of indictment to be issued just three weeks after the three men were charged.
In fact, that has been the question on the tips of many a tongue since December 2017. The trio were arraigned in court on 5 December and have been remanded in custody since then.
But technically, the attorney general can take as long as he requires to issue the bill of indictment.
At this stage, the acts of the case would have been sent to the attorney general, who must then decide whether to send the trial to a panel of jurors or whether to send the acts of the case back to the magistrate and request more information.
This process between the attorney general and the magistrate usually lasts about a year to a year-and-a-half, until the attorney general is satisfied with the evidence presented. There is nothing, however, excluding the attorney general from taking longer and requiring the magistrate to compile more evidence, but the attorney general’s office cannot object to bail after the 20-month period lapses.
The law provides that the 20-month period starts either when the accused is brought before the courts or when the accused is arrested. The three men were arrested some 48 hours before they were arraigned, meaning that if the attorney general is not satisfied within the 20-month period, they could be released from prison next month.
While the law provides the attorney general all the time necessary to take this decision, there is a legal provision which says that in cases where the crime carries a minimum jail term of nine years, should the accused not be indicted in the time frame of 20 months, the court is obliged to grant bail.
It is up to the court’s discretion to impose the conditions of bail, based on the usual relevant factors such as risk of absconding, the accused’s criminal record and other factors.
Last May, the presiding magistrate ruled against yet another application for bail for two of the accused, saying that their release would constitute a threat to public order.