Welsh dad jailed in Malta for growing five cannabis plants fails in bid to have 10-year sentence cut

Daniel Holmes with wife Marzena and daughter Rainbow in the family visiting room of his prison in Malta

A Welsh dad jailed for 10-and-a-half years on Malta after being caught growing five cannabis plants has failed in his latest bid to have the sentence reduced.

Daniel Holmes from Newport was convicted on the island of Gozo in 2011 and handed a decade-long sentence at Corradino Correctional Facility (CCF) near the Maltese capital, Valetta.

A Constitutional Court hearing, which found his “right to a fair trial had been breached” led to renewed hope last week the 35-year-old would soon be free.

But despite the ruling, which found that criminal proceedings against Mr Holmes had taken an unreasonable length of time and that he had been exposed to arbitrary punishment, the prisoner was granted only €7,000 compensation (£5,500) and no reduction in his sentence, to the despair of his family.

Parents Mel and Kate, who live in Risca, Newport and wife Marzena, who lives in Cardiff with their three-year-old daughter, Rainbow have been left “quietly devastated” by the latest setback.

Retired teacher Mel said: “The lawyers are happy because the ruling has proved there are faults in the Maltese legal system which need reform.

“But even though they’ve admitted his human rights were breached the decision has not done a great deal for Daniel.

“We were hoping for at least the sentence to be halved, he’s served around three-years now so the nightmare should be coming to an end.

“He has been wronged, served his time and he should now be released, that was the result we were hoping for.

“But €7000 is an insult, we’ve spent many times more than that in legal fees already and it will continue to cost us.

“Awarding him that sum is a slap in the face.”

Daniel was arrested in 2006 for growing cannabis weighing about 1kg – including the roots and stems – with his English flat-mate, Barry Lee.

Malta’s laws make no distinction between cultivating and trafficking and the authorities threw the book at the pair. Barry, 44, was found hanged in prison in 2010.

In November 2011, Daniel – who has always maintained the drug was for personal use only – pleaded guilty in the hope of receiving a lesser sentence, but was jailed for 10-and-a-half-years.

His treatment sparked outcry on the island, with thousands signing petitions calling for a fair sentence on appeal.

In November last year judges in Malta rejected that appeal for a reduced sentence.

But determined to keep fighting, the prisoner filed a constitutional application against the Attorney General, the Police Commissioner and the directors general of Courts and Gozo Courts.

He claimed that his fundamental human rights had been violated because of the unreasonable delays in the proceedings against him and because the unfettered discretion of the Attorney General to decide whether an accused person would face a trial by jury or proceedings before the Magistrates Courts.

Dad Mel said: “The Attorney General in Malta makes decisions, quite arbitrarily, about whether to send someone to the Criminal Court or the Magistrates Court.

“If Daniel had been left in the Magistrates Court the sentence for his crime would have been between six months and ten years.

“In the Criminal Court the sentence is between four years and life, for exactly the same crime.”

This week Mr Justice Anthony Ellul declared the “unfettered discretion” of the Attorney General to decide before which court an accused person would be tried “was in violation of the European Convention” which provided for protection against arbitrary punishment.

Mel added: “The Maltese legal system has now admitted that Daniel’s treatment was not constitutional but they’ve done nothing about it, they haven’t changed his sentence at all.

“The result which has been published hinges on the fact Daniel pleaded guilty to the charges, so although his human rights were breached their attitude is ‘so what? He pleaded guilty!’”

“The problem we have is that it was his own lawyer who advised him to make that plea.

“Even with the complete lack of evidence against him Daniel was told to plead guilty, hope for clemency, and it would all be over soon. Otherwise the case would drag on for years.

“There was an expectation the court would show leniency. They didn’t of course.

“That was entirely the wrong decision and unfortunately it is the reason the Constitutional Court has not reduced the sentence.”

Daniel, who qualified as a chef at Nash College (Coleg Gwent) and went on to work at renowned restaurant The Walnut Tree in Abergavenny before deciding to move to Malta in 2004, must now appeal the Constitutional Court ruling before his case can be taken to the European Court of Human Rights.

Meanwhile in South Wales his family are counting the cost.

Mel said: “The financial burden is going to get worse.

“We’re living on my pension and thankfully at the moment the legal costs have not become a problem because we’re using our savings.

“But that money was meant to see us through our old age and the financial strain will become a problem when we get to the European Court.”

He added: “Daniel is very stoic about it all.

“He’s spent eight years (since his arrest) suffering the same kind of treatment and he is resilient.

“His first words to his lawyer was ‘get the appeal in.’

“But of course he’s disappointed.”

Daniel’s wife Marzena meanwhile is said to be putting on a brave face for the sake of her daughter, who is old enough to understand her father’s situation. Earlier this year the two girls travelled to Malta after prison authorities agreed to make special arrangements for family photographs to be taken.

Mel added: “His wife is quietly devastated as you can imagine. His daughter is three now and he’s missed everything in terms of her growing up.

“She’s a very intelligent little girl. She’s just started nursery and she knows where her dad is and that ‘they’ won’t let him come home.

“Even at the age of two she was asking if her daddy could come home with us.

“We’ll keep on fighting, you can do nothing else.”

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/welsh-dad-jailed-malta-growing-7925896 14/10/2014