Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/879686
6 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER 2017 News MATTHEW AGIUS LACK of driver courtesy is understood to have led to an argument that landed a 28-year-old woman in court, accused of attacking a police officer. Sabrina Camilleri of Swieqi, pleaded not guilty to violently resisting arrest, threaten- ing a female police officer, slightly injuring her and disobeying her lawful orders in an incident which took place yesterday morning in St Ju- lian's. Police inspector Nikolai Sant explained to Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera that at around 8.45am in St Julian's yesterday, the ac- cused had suddenly pulled out of a parking space without indicating her intention, star- tling the police woman who hooted her car's horn. The accused allegedly reacted aggressive- ly, insulting and arguing with the policewoman, before assaulting her as the situation escalated. Defence lawyer Patrick Valentino explained that Camilleri, who was also charged with breaching the peace, had been upset after deal- ing with an unrelated incident involving her son. The accused pleaded not guilty. Valentino claimed that it had been his client who had been attacked by the WPC and asked that she also be medically examined. The court ordered a medical examination to ascertain the extent of any injuries she might have suffered. Camilleri was granted bail on conditions which include her signing a bail book daily and providing a personal guarantee of €1,000. No deposit requirement was imposed. The court assigned the case to the St Julian's district court, under Magistrate Ian Farrugia. Woman driver charged with attacking police officer for honking at her THE BirdLife activist who had accompanied BBC presenter Chris Packham while filming a documentary in Mizieb has been cleared of trespassing on private land and exercising a pretended right after no evidence was of- fered that he had been on private land or that he had interfered with anyone's rights. In 2014, Nimrod Mifsud, 32, had been charged with trespass- ing on land in Mizieb that hunt- ers claim is a reserve accorded to them by agreement with the gov- ernment back in 1986. Mifsud had been accompanying BBC presenter Chris Packham in his attempt to interview hunters in the spring of 2014. Mifsud was charged with trespassing in Mi- zieb and exercising a pretended right. Neither Packham nor his British crew had been charged in connection with the incident. He was also accused of interfer- ing with hunters Kenneth Sciber- ras and Robert Booker's right to enjoyment of their property. The young activist denied tres- passing onto the hunters' prop- erty and had testified to having stuck to the dirt track whilst in Mizieb. During the hearing of the case, Magistrate Charmaine Galea had heard Lino Farrugia, the chief executive officer of the FKNK explain that following an agree- ment signed by former Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bon- nici on 11 April, 1986, the land had been reserved exclusively for use by hunters during the open season. Through this agreement, the public land in question was placed under the "administra- tion" of the FKNK and forbade access to the nature reserve by unauthorised persons. Farrugia had said that the agreement had been confirmed in October 1989 through the endorsement given by the deputy Prime Minister of the time, Prof. Guido de Marco. In a decision handed down yes- terday, the court noted that the accused and his companions had been walking in the Ahrax tal- Mellieha area and filmed some hunters in action and that an argument had broken out. The court observed that the elements of the crimes imputed to him were not all present. "It does not emerge that the ac- cused interfered with their pos- session or interfered with their belongings. It was in no way proven that the two persons [Mifsud and Booker] had exclu- sive possession of the dirt track where the accused was passing. He was neither filming nor con- ducting any interviews. He was simply accompanying a foreign camera crew." His mere presence on the dirt track did now prove that he was dispossessing the two hunters, held the court. "The court observed that we are in the criminal law sphere, where the evidence produced by the prosecution must be the best evidence available." The prosecution's failure to present a copy of a detailed site plan that outlined the areas covered by the 1986 agreement in support of its claim of trespass, meant that this was not conclusively proven, said the magistrate, dismissing the charges. Inspector Nikolai Sant pros- ecuted. Lawyer Stephen Tonna Lowell was defence counsel. Lawyer Kathleen Grima repre- sented the FKNK as parte civile. MATTHEW AGIUS A police inspector has stated that a large number of Libyan and Somali nationals seeking asylum in Malta are involved in the drugs trade, observing that despite all the efforts to curb it, law enforcement was seemingly unable to stem the inf lux of drugs from Africa. This emerged as a 27 year- old Libyan asylum seeker was arraigned before magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera after being arrested while trying to sell drugs to a young Ital- ian couple in Paceville in the early hours yesterday. Ahmed Al Allagi, who lives in shared accommodation in Msida, was arrested in St Au- gustine Street, St Julians after police moved in when they spotted him selling cannabis. The Italian couple, who were presented as witnesses, told the court that the ac- cused had stopped them and offered them marijuana. "I had never tried drugs and wanted to try it for the first time," the woman said. The accused had just pulled out a sachet of marijuana from his shoe and handed it to her when the police moved in. Al- though the drugs were found on her person, the woman ex- plained that she hadn't paid for the drugs at that point, as they were still negotiating a price. She had already paid a fine for possession of the drugs, she said. The male Italian told a simi- lar story. The couple had been in their hotel during the night and had decided to go out for a walk, when they came across the accused. Al Allagi had asked them if they need- ed anything. "He showed me what he had, a bag of mari- juana. As we were looking at it, the police arrived." The Libyan had asked for €20 for the drugs. "It was in my girlfriend's hands but we had not bought it at that point." Asked by the prosecu- tion about where the man had been carrying the drugs, he said that the accused had been storing the drugs in a plastic sachet in his right shoe. Al Allagi, represented by lawyer Patrick Valentino, pleaded not guilty and re- quested bail, which was ob- jected to by the prosecution, on a number of grounds. Prosecuting Police Inspec- tor Trevor Micallef pointed out that Al Allagi had also been arrested when he had first arrived in Malta for us- ing a false document, but had subsequently claimed asy- lum. The court granted Al Allagi bail against a deposit of €1,000 and a personal guarantee of €2,000 and ordered him to obey a curfew, but he is under- stood to have been remanded in custody after being unable to provide the deposit. "A lot of Libyans and Soma- lis who come here seeking shelter are being found with drugs," observed the Inspec- tor, later commenting that the relentless onslaught – and the additional administrative workload it created – was having a negative effect on the morale of his officers. Drug-smuggling Libyan and Somali asylum seekers causing police headaches, court told BirdLife activist who accompanied BBC documentary crew to Mizieb cleared of trespassing Chris Packham is no stranger to Malta... and no stranger to controversy in Malta, either