Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/382165
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2014 News 6 Attorney General asks for revocation of bail for murder suspect JUSTICE Minister Owen Bonnici took to Facebook on Monday to answer questions from the public regarding potential new cannabis legislation. This marked the end of a two- month public consultation that the government had launched to listen to people's views about its White Paper that proposes amendments to the drug laws. "The public opinion is that we urgently need to reform our drug laws," a government statement said. "Victims of drug abuse need to be helped, rather than burdened with more problems. "The public generally agrees that we urgently need to reform our drug laws so that victims of drug abuse are given more help instead of more problems," the government said. "At the same time, we need to strengthen our fight against drug traffickers." The White Paper suggests that individuals facing prosecution for drug use will no longer face a court hearing but instead appear in front of a justice commissioner who can either give them a warning or refer them to a social board of experts. Repeat offenders will automatically be referred to this board. However, cannabis will be treated differently to other drugs. "The White Paper is proposing to consider cannabis differently from other drugs in terms of simple pos- session, cultivation and its medici- nal use," Bonnici said, in response to a Facebook question. However, he denied that the government consid- ers cannabis decriminalisation as the first step towards its eventual legalisation. "We are proposing that simple cannabis possession be treated on the same level as a traffic offence," Bonnici said. "If it is feared that the user could be using cannabis as a gateway to other drugs, then he could be referred to a social team that will help him kick the habit." "As things stand, everyone who grows cannabis is subjected to a minimum of six months in prison," Bonnici said. "Now we're going to leave it up to the courts to decide whether the 'cultivator' should be sent to prison or not. There's a dif- ference, after all, between growing one small plant and growing enough plants to fill up a roof. "People will not be allowed to grow their own cannabis plants for medicinal use," Bonnici said. "Instead, we are proposing that pa- tients can be prescribed medication such as sprays that contain cannabis extracts. "We will be analysing the public feedback and use it to help draft a law by next month," the government said. "Our aim is for Parliament to approve this law before the end of the year." MATTHEW AGIUS THE Attorney General yester- day filed an application before the criminal court requesting the revo- cation of an order granting bail to Gregorio Scicluna, who is accused of murder. Scicluna is charged with the mur- der of Joseph Caruana and the at- tempted murder of his own partner and their two children, aged 3 and 5, as well as with firearms offences. Noting that Scicluna has numer- ous previous convictions to his name, including complicity in mur- der and sexual offences – some of them against minors – the appli- cation stated that several previous requests for bail had been declined by the court. The Attorney General felt "mani- festly aggrieved" that despite his objections, the Court of Magis- trates granted Scicluna bail on 10th September – albeit under strict conditions and a hefty deposit. Describing Scicluna as "very iras- cible and utterly untrustworthy", the application highlighted the ac- cused's criminal record as proof that he had not learnt from his pre- vious convictions, but on the con- trary "went up a scale" in his crimi- nal behaviour. This time, instead of procuring a weapon and convincing someone to commit murder, he did the deed himself, placing his chil- dren's lives in manifest jeopardy in the process. The Attorney General added that on the day of the incident in ques- tion, Scicluna had an argument with his partner and mother of his children, Maria Simone Caruana. The woman tried to escape the aggression of her lover together with their children and her father, Joseph, who was killed after being shot in the back by Scicluna. Not content with having killed him, Sci- cluna is alleged to have struck the deceased's head with the butt of his shotgun with enough force to break the weapon. Adding that "even if the accused were to obey the terms of his bail, it would offer little comfort to his ex- partner and children, who are also prosecution witnesses". The ap- plication requested that the court rescind its initial grant of bail and order the re-arrest of the accused. Republic Street, Valletta next to the Courts Justice Minister clears the air over cannabis law reforms 'People will not be allowed to grow cannabis for medicinal use' Owen Bonnici took to Facebook to answer questions from the public