Sri Lankan charged in Malta over rape of ex-girlfriend

A Sri Lankan man has been remanded in Malta after being charged with the rape of his ex-girlfriend.

Technician Mathihul Akmal Mohamed Jabir, 32, from Sri Lanka, was arraigned before magistrate Joseph Gatt by police inspectors John Spiteri and Sherona Buhagiar, assisted by prosecutor Cynthia Tomasuolo.

The magistrate read out the charges and informed the defendant of his rights.

Jabir is charged with the rape of a woman, understood to be his ex-girlfriend, holding her against her will, subjecting her to a non-consensual sexual act, harassment, causing her to fear violence, stalking her, directing insults and threats at her and misusing electronic telecommunications equipment.

Inspector Spiteri told the court that the defendant had already left Malta on a flight to Sri Lanka when police officers had initially tried to arrest him. He was detained upon his return.

The inspector pointed out that the Attorney General had not consented to the case being decided by the Court of Magistrates, meaning that it could potentially be tried by a jury.

Defence lawyer Joseph Calleja Parnis told the court his client was pleading not guilty and requested bail.

The bail request met with several objections from the prosecution, which cited the gravity of the offences, the early stage of the proceedings, the fact that the victim had not yet testified and the defendant’s knowledge of where she resided. Besides the risk that he would tamper with evidence, there was also that of him absconding from Malta, as he did not have any strong ties to the islands, argued prosecutor Cynthia Tomasuolo from the Office of the AG.

Inspector Spiteri concurred. “We understand that he is innocent until proven guilty and that detention should be the exception not the rule, but this is a textbook case of the exception.”

Malta had no bilateral treaties with Sri Lanka, so should the man abscond there was no way to bring him back to face trial, explained the inspector.

“It is good to also note that the accused allegedly installed a tracking device on the victim’s vehicle. The fear that this person will interfere with our witnesses is real and manifest,” he concluded.

Calleja Parnis submitted that the alleged victim had filed a police report on 19 March about harassment, “then this alleged rape came up as a side note, while she was lodging her report with the police.”

The charges say the alleged rape took place on 24 February, almost a month before the report was filed, added the lawyer. “If she was really serious about this alleged rape, she would have gone to report it there and then or the next day, not a month after and only mention it as an aside.”

The prosecution disagreed. “First of all to come out and ask why the person didn’t report the rape immediately…marital rape is tough to come to terms with. She reported this because she was totally fed up and unable to continue to handle the behaviour of the accused. On another note, we did have time to collect all the technical evidence but the victim still needs to testify.”

Calleja Parnis argued this problem would remain if bail were to be granted at a later stage.

The court denied the request for bail. A protection order was granted in favour of the alleged victim, whose name is subject to a publication ban. (Malta Today / Colombo Gazette)