The prosecution is not in a position to summon expert Miroslava Milenovic due to the criminal complaint filed against her yesterday
LIVE: Compilation of evidence against Fearne & Co
10:15 | Sam Sittlington was previously obliged to provide a medical certificate to substantiate the reason for his absence during a previous hearing in October. The court notes that this medical certificate excusing his absence has not yet been filed. The court orders Sittlington to be notified accordingly.
The case is deferred and the next sitting will be held on 22 November. Thankyou for following!
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10:10 | The defence continues to insist about its claimed right to know why Milenovic is not present today and why she is refusing to testify further in today’s proceedings.
Lead prosecutor Francesco Refalo says that the prosecution is not in a position to ask the witness to testify “given the last 24 hours”, and reminds the defence that the prosecution has a right to summon witnesses as it sees fit and that the prosecution is not obliged to provide any kind of reason for its decisions, at law.
Defence lawyer Franco Debono rebuts, arguing that the witness was set to testify and that at the very least, a reason should be provided for her absence given that today’s hearing was likely to be taken up entirely by her testimony and a subsequent cross-examination.
The court formally notes down the submissions made by the defence and the prosecution’s request for a deferral of today’s hearing. Magistrate Leonard Caruana concludes that, given that the law allows absolute discretion to the attorney general to make such a call, the deferral will be granted accordingly.
Defence lawyer Franco Debono makes a final submission related to the recent decision to lift the freezing order on the assets of DF Advocates, quoting the judgement and pointing out that DF Advocates cannot be held liable as a result of this judgement and that only the individuals in question – Jean-Karl Farrugia and Kevin Deguara – can be held accountable in their own personal capacity. Magistrate Leonard Caruana notes the defence lawyer’s request accordingly.
09:55 | The defence’s pincer attack on the credibility of the court expert in question has now shifted to full view: on the one hand, several of the lawyers in the case against Muscat and the other batch of co-accused filed a criminal complaint, successfully smearing her reputation during a two hour hearing.
On the other, the message from today’s case is quite clear: the defence (Gianella de Marco) is now asking out loud whether “Milenovic has something to hide” and whether she is afraid of incriminating herself while on the witness stand.
Defence lawyer Stefano Filletti continues along these lines, now outright accusing this court expert of being afraid of incriminating herself if she were to testify.
He argues that she did not have the right to unilaterally declare that she does not want to testify and that it is the court’s duty to determine whether she is to testify or not.
Filletti now speaks of the “hardships” that his clients have to go through because of the case, bellicosely claiming that the prosecution is trying to protect court experts and that the court must intervene directly.
09:50 | Magistrate Leonard Caruana formally notes down the prosecution’s submission in relation to Milenovic’s testimony.
Defence lawyer Franco Debono does not outright object to the prosecution’s request to ask for a deferral, but asks the prosecution to explain why it is not able to carry on with today’s hearing.
Debono further notes that none of the accused in today’s hearing filed a criminal complaint, and asks the prosecution to explain its “unilateral” request for a deferral.
Indeed, the criminal complaint against Milenovic was filed by Muscat and the other accused.
Debono continues, noting that the witness in question was a court expert who served a crucial role in the magisterial inquiry which led to the criminal case.
“Is there any objective reason for an expert facing a criminal complaint not to testify?”, Debono asks rhetorically.
He also asks the prosecution to clarify what exactly is going to happen now that this criminal complaint has been filed and whether this means that the case will be stalled until the criminal complaint case is heard out.
09:45 | Good Morning, live from Hall 22 where the compilation of evidence against Chris Fearne and other defendants continues.
Magistrate Leonard Caruana quickly goes over the list of witnesses.
Defence lawyer Stephen Tonna Lowell begins today’s hearing by insisting that the prosecution defines what its plan for today’s hearing is.
Prosecutor Francesco Refalo outlines what is to be done for the day, and begins by referring to forensic expert Miroslava Milenovic.
He says the prosecution is not in a position to summon Milenovic as a witness due to the criminal complaint that was filed against the court expert by disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat and several of the co-accused.
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Reporting about this case has become a full-time job for us on certain days. We are not getting paid for delivering this public service, but greatly appreciate your donation to NEWZ.mt using our Revolut payment page.
Please leave a reference to ‘Court Blog’, so we’re able to allocate the amount received to this project.
