Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1502123
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 JUNE 2023 NEWS dumped Brian's body out at sea. They were even taken out at sea, with a police inspector, and a lawyer accompany- ing them, to show them the area where they had dumped the body – a zone of around 100 me- tres depth where no fish- ing can take place." But much of this evi- dence had to be disre- garded by the jury this week, when the Consti- tutional Court last year decreed those state- ments given without caution and without ad- equate legal assistance, could not be declared admissible. Despite knowing that the law had turned against them, Danny Rosso feels that the de- fence, while poking holes at any sort of evidence brought in court, could have made a mockery of the facts that had, after all, already been admitted to by the two ac- cused. "Without any respect or morality, defence counsel Franco Debono tried to rubbish the evi- dence by insinuating that Brian 'might still be alive' because nobody has ever been found, or that he had run afoul of the Ma- fia," Danny Rosso says. "This dissembling was a lack of respect towards the court, because he knew well of their admis- sions, and he knew that it was only their state- ments that could not be presented in court. But he did know what had happened." The judge had to direct the jury to the fact that the evidence of the ac- cused's admission, was in fact inadmissible, and in- deed, they had to acquit them. Rosso says that despite the meticulous compila- tion of evidence, the de- lay in the case has meant that two alleged murderers who admitted with the police of having shot his brother, were now scot-free. "The practice at the time was that the accused did not have a lawyer by their side during inter- rogation: a signed admission was admissible evidence in court. But what happened was that as the years rolled on, the interpretation of a fair trial changed, meaning any such guilty admission to the police under interrogation re- quires the assistance of a lawyer," Rosso says. "So now we ended up with a fair trial, and despite the admission of these two men, with all the details of what they did, they are out and roaming freely... after shooting a man, killing him and dumping his body at sea. This is what our jus- tice system is." Danny Rosso says there is no justice for people like him, or Brian Rosso's wife and daughter, who have had to wait for years before serious cases like these started to unravel due to legal de- velopments. "To the Maltese people, I say: do not believe for one second that there is justice in our coun- try. This is not a partisan issue or something to blame on one government or the other. Brian's case is not the only one to have suffered this kind of delay – many cases are being held up, spending years in suspension until they are decided. That is not justice. When nothing happens, there is no justice. "I appeal to everyone: every- one must protest, and say this is something we have to fix. I appeal to the members of the judiciary, the Chamber of Advocates, our MPs and MEPs... we cannot be quiet, lest our silence mean that we approve of what is wrong. We're simply not even conscious of this fundamental deficiency in our justice – and without justice, there is no liberty or democracy. I can only thank the police and prosecution for their work... and may God give peace to those who, actively or passively, are working to put the spokes in the wheels of justice." mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Albert Brian Rosso disappeared in 2005