Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1505323
2 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 9 AUGUST 2023 2 Men in Qawra fight denied bail MATTHEW AGIUS TWO men have been remand- ed in custody for grievously in- juring one another during a vi- cious fight in Qawra on Sunday evening. Photos of the fight's bloody aftermath, captured by an on- looker, went viral on social me- dia soon after. The incident, in which a broken bottle is understood to have been used, took place on Triq Annetto Caruana in the northern seaside town at around 6pm on Sunday. Photos posted on social media showed one of the men lying on his back on the ground beside a blood-stained car. Both men were subsequently taken to hospital in an ambulance. Desmond Sylvester, 24, and Stanley Ebende, 27, both Ni- gerian nationals who have no fixed place of residence, were both arraigned before Magis- trate Abigail Critien on Tues- day afternoon. Inspectors Clayton Camill- eri and Andrew Borg Bonel- lo charged the two men with inflicting grievous injuries to each other's hands and faces, causing disability and disfig- urement to both. The men were also accused of damaging a motorcycle owned by a third party and uttering insults and threats, as well as breaching the peace. They were denied bail. Lawyer Mattia Felice ap- peared for Ebende while law- yer Martin Fenech represented Sylvester. MATTHEW VELLA A Court of Constitutional Ap- peal has revoked a rare interim order that released a convicted building contractor from jail un- til his constitutional case claim- ing his imprisonment was in breach of his rights, is heard and decided. A three-judge court presided by Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti disagreed with the first court's decision, saying it should have ordered that the Constitution- al case be heard with urgency, to ensure a faster resolution. "In these circumstances, this would have been a more ap- posite measure than that of suspending the execution of a court sentence." Paul Demicoli, one of two men jailed for causing the death of two women through negligence when a building in St Paul's Bay collapsed during excavations on an adjoining plot, was released from jail in a rare interim order by a court. The case dates back to 3 June, 2004 when a block of apart- ments on Triq Ramon Perel- los collapsed as a result of construction works next door, leading to the deaths of Ma- ria Dolores Zarb and Nadezda Vavilova. Demicoli was first con- demned to a three-year jail term in 2009, but had the sen- tence reduced to two years on appeal last November. Kevin Bonnici, the worker who had been carrying out excavation works on site earlier that day, was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment. After being jailed, Demico- li filed a constitutional case claiming that his imprisonment was breaching his rights and requested an interim measure. He claimed it was "disgraceful and shameful" that his criminal case took 18 years to be decid- ed, and then still condemned to an effective jail term. Demicoli said that the vic- tims' relatives had testified in court proceedings and asked it not to impose effective impris- onment, but the court still de- cided otherwise. Mr Justice Francesco De- pasquale, presiding over the First Hall of the Civil Courts in its constitutional jurisdic- tion, noted that Zarb's daugh- ter, Marie Diane Mulè Stagno, had declared she had forgiv- en Demicoli and Bonnici, and that she would have preferred they be given community work rather than imprisonment. The judge decided it was "fair and equitable" to provide the interim measure and order Demicoli's release from pris- on until the case is decided, on deposit of €5,000 and making a personal guarantee of €50,000. Chief Justice revokes interim order that released contractor from jail The site of the collapsed building in St Paul's Bay in 2004 Court of Constitutional Appeal revokes rare order to release contractor from jail pending outcome of fair rights breach hearing