Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1531843
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 JANUARY 2025 Saviour Balzan Saviour Balzan is founder and co-owner of Media Today, publisher of MaltaToday, he is a TV host and pollster OPINION Ban bail for alleged murderers, but introduce a time period for the judicial outcome I cannot quite forget the incident - a bak- er took a shotgun and at close range shot at one of his own employees. The murder took place in the bakery in broad daylight in full view of customers and family members. The details were gory, and it was top news for the rest of the week. The bak- er was arrested by police and accused of murder. The bakery was just up from our news- room, so we were first with the news. So, you can imagine my surprise when some months later I saw the same guy who had killed a man, standing behind the coun- ter serving customers as if it was another normal day. I had no idea he was out on bail. This was some 28 years ago and I can- not remember what happened with the case, or how many years he was convict- ed for or whether he ever spent any time in prison. But what I do know is that the guy is not at Corradino anymore and that he was given bail before being sentenced. The opinions about individuals ac- cused of murder being given bail are as contentious as the argument whether we should keep the Maltese jury system or not. But we seriously need to look at the whole system. Sometimes, I get the feeling that we are happy with the status quo. I do know that we are not the only country with imperfect laws and I also know that people facing a trial in Malta are presumed innocent until proven oth- erwise. But there are cases and cases. The Yorgen Fenech case is not a nor- mal case. He is accused of murdering a journalist. Furthermore, Fenech has turned out to be the guy who surfaces every time we talk about potential corruption plots in- volving government projects. The murder case is so highly charged that the Fenech family could not even find a high-profile lawyer to defend Fenech. My guess is this has happened because of the fear lawyers have of being stigmatised if they defend Fenech. In- deed, it turned out to be impossible for any experienced top criminal lawyer to be drawn into Fenech's defence. Fenech had to do with the services of two young lawyers. The truth is that in an ideal world the criminal proceedings would run smooth- ly and the accused person would face a trial within a reasonable timeframe. But there is nothing normal here. And the fault does not lie with one side. Surely no one here is suggesting that we should sacrifice the right to be fairly judged simply to expedite the criminal cases. But somewhere in the whole system, something is not functioning. It cannot be that criminal cases take years to be concluded. Sooner or later Yorgen Fenech like all other persons facing murder charges had to be given bail. It was only a matter of time. Most people would agree that those who face murder charges should not be given bail. On Fenech being granted bail, strange- ly, both Robert Abela and the Caruana Galizia family would agree the decision is bad. They have different reasons to object to his bail. In the case of the gov- ernment, there is this conscious fear that anything that could happen to Fenech whilst out on bail would ricochet back to government, and in the case of the Caruana Galizia family, the fact that they know that the alleged mastermind of their mother's death is out and about does not bode well. As is the norm in this country, we on- ly act when the proverbial shit hits the fan. It is high time we address the funda- mental principles that govern our justice system and make everyone accountable and responsible: the judiciary first and foremost, the Attorney General, the leg- islator and the police. We have to fine tune the system to ad- dress new realities. Frankly, I cannot see it happening, but we should remove bail for alleged mur- derers on condition that their judicial process takes place within a clearly stip- ulated timeframe. Strangely both Robert Abela and the Caruana Galizia family would agree that the decision to grant Fenech bail now is bad