Suspected Daphne murder mastermind Yorgen Fenech has gone on hunger strike after two inmates were allocated to his cell, allegedly without having been quarantined, MaltaToday reports.

The news portal said Fenech, who has one kidney, has complained that the new inmates pose a health risk to him.

A number of other inmates have also gone on hunger strike over Covid-19 conditions in prison.

One of Fenech’s lawyers, Gianluca Caruana Curran, told MaltaToday that his client decided to stop eating in response to “unacceptably harsh conditions” at the prison.

Earlier, LovinMalta reported that Fenech was protesting at the allocation of two black men to his cell, but the lawyer said the decision “has nothing to do with the colour of one’s skin or race.”

“Such references are deplorable and solely intended to inflame and twist perceptions,” the lawyer told MaltaToday, adding that Fenech had taken the decision with the entire division based on living conditions.

Caruana Curran said Fenech has been held in a crowded room for the past months, with a latrine shared between all the inmates, a small basin and inadequate ventilation.

He said the situation has been made worse by the current high temperatures.

His client, who is still presumed innocent, is only allowed 15 to 30 minutes a week to seek his family. That right has now been revoked “with no apparent reason,” the lawyer added.