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2 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 18 DECEMBER 2024 2 KARL AZZOPARDI kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt THOMAS CILIA tcilia@mediatoday.com.mt A Police inspector detained un- der a defective police warrant was yesterday awarded €20,000 by the Court after it was con- firmed that his fundamental hu- man rights had been breached. Elton Taliana instituted Con- stitutional proceedings in 2021, whereby he argued that a warrant of arrest issued against him constituted a breach of his fundamental human rights in- asmuch as it was procedurally defective. Taliana had been suspended from the corps following sus- picions by his superiors that he may have leaked sensitive information regarding an on- going investigation involving a person convicted for fraud. Julian Hofstra had been the subject of links to alleged se- cret recordings pertaining to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Taliana was suspected of leaking information to law- yers assisting Yorgen Fenech, who stands accused of com- plicity in the murder. Following numerous years of legal proceedings, Taliana was within reach of a promotion to the rank of superintendent, so much so that, when another superintendent had arrived at his house on a particular day, he believed that she had done so to hand him a certificate of said promotion. But alas, he learnt that he was subject to a warrant of search and arrest, on the strength of which he was taken into cus- tody and his name logged into the so-called 'detainee book'. His home was searched and personal possessions, including his mobile phone, were seized. During the proceedings Talia- na's lawyers argued that there were several defects pertaining to the arrest warrant, including the fact that it did not conform to the requisites laid down by the Criminal Code. It was fur- ther argued that the informa- tion supplied in order to obtain the arrest warrant was 'incom- plete' and 'deceptive'. Although the Court dismissed the argument that the warrant was in breach of human rights insofar as it was requested be- fore the wrong court, it accept- ed other arguments raised by Taliana. One 'grave shortcoming' highlighted in the judgment re- ferred to the fact that the arrest warrant failed to state the rea- son for the arrest. Two conflicting versions were provided by high-ranking of- ficers. Whilst one stated that the arrest was sought because Taliana had accessed the police system, another officer cited an alleged leak of information to a third party as the reason for the arrest. The Court furthermore noted witness testimony which con- firmed that it was realised that the reason for arrest was not specified in the warrant. The Court held that it could not comfortably conclude that the inspector was aware of the reason for his arrest. It was also argued that the information supplied by the officer requesting the warrant was deceptive and incomplete. The Court noted that the du- ty magistrate was not informed that Taliana was not the only person to have accessed Hof- stra's profile on the police sys- tem. The Magistrate was fur- ther told that Taliana leaked information regarding an on- going investigation, when the inspector had no access to such information to begin with. The Court noted that this meant that not all informa- tion was passed to the Magis- trate when the request for the arrest warrant was made, as is required by law. It was noted that the law is clear in providing that the police must divulge all infor- mation, and this so that Mag- istrates retain a clear view of the all facts before making a decision. Indeed, so that an adjudicator can reach the best decision possible, in a 'just and equitable manner', it is neces- sary that the whole truth, rath- er than part of it, is provided. The warrant was ultimate- ly declared defective and in breach of the plaintiff's fun- damental human rights. The defective nature of the warrant meant that Taliana's arrest, de- tention, interrogation, search and seizure of personal items were all invalid in character. Taliana's 'turbulent' history taken into consideration The Court, in considering the damages to be awarded, held that it could not ignore Talia- na's claims that he was made to pass through 'various chal- lenges and persecutions' made by his superiors in recent years. Indeed, Taliana argued that the facts of the case at hand constituted one of various attacks made against him in order to prevent him from reaching the rank of Superin- tendent. The Court noted that similar- ities existed between the case at hand and a conclusion made by the Ombudsman in 2019 which concluded that that po- lice authorities "rushed to pun- ish the complainant [Taliana]." Indeed, an arrest warrant was rushed when the plaintiff was expecting a promotion. Taliana was ultimately award- ed €20,000 in non-pecuniary damages. It was further or- dered that Taliana's name be struck off the detainee book. Lawyers Joseph Zammit Maempel and Eve Borg Costan- zi assisted the applicant. Inspector awarded €20,000 after being detained under defective arrest warrant THE government is not seri- ous about reforming the Cor- radino Correctional Facility, the Nationalist Party has said in reaction to an Auditor Gen- eral report. "The PN believes that if the prison system and personal rehabilitation fail, crime will rise and take advantage of the situation, leading to serious consequences for the public and society as a whole," Shad- ow Minister for Home Affairs Darren Carabott said. A follow-up audit of the Cor- radino Correctional Facility by the National Audit Office (NAO) highlighted ongoing staff shortages and cleanliness issues, urging stronger efforts to improve conditions. The audit also reported progress in building renovations and the implementation of inmate care plans. The PN said more effort and determination are needed to implement the necessary re- forms at the prison facility. "The only fully implement- ed recommendation over the three years was the creation of care plans for each prisoner, the systematic assignment of internal work placements, and officer training in rehabilita- tion and care," the PN said. Carabott said the report is another clear certificate of failure for the Home Affairs Minister "who now faces doc- umented evidence that prison system reform and personal rehabilitation are not his pri- orities." Prison follow-up audit 'another certificate of failure' for Byron Camilleri: PN Nationalist Party says government is not serious about reforming the Corradino Correctional Facility Corradino Correctional Facility (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)