Integrity of prosecution's case must be preserved

06 May 2020

Dr Charles Mercieca, a public prosecutor in the Office of the Attorney General, resigned from his position yesterday afternoon only to appear in Court this morning on behalf of Yorgen Fenech, the person charged with conspiring to assassinate Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The timing of Dr Mercieca’s transition to criminal defence lawyer points to prior collusion between Mr Fenech’s defence team and a serving criminal prosecutor.

The implications for the Office of the Attorney General and for Malta’s already weak criminal justice system are serious.

In the interest of preserving the integrity of the prosecution’s case and ensuring justice is served, the family of the victim have written to the Attorney General to immediately launch an internal investigation and to treat this matter with the urgency it deserves.

As Dr Mercieca’s actions are in flagrant breach of the Code of Ethics & Conduct for Advocates, the letter was copied to the Commission for the Administration of Justice, which is responsible for discipline over advocates.