Malta Extradition

[nimoh]

I don't know the details of the extradition treaty between UK and Malta, but it seems to me that the delays indicate that the UK is simultaneously trying to protect the integrity of their foreign policy while at the same time trying to avoid hanging a citizen out to dry.

 

[Centrals]

Member of the Commonwealth makes any difference?

 

[mills705]

Member of the Commonwealth makes any difference?

Nothing to do with that.
As it is within the EU there is a european arrest warrant so if you are wanted in a country then they apply for a warrant and can get you arrested and extradited without too much court costs etc.

 

[stephen.martin]

to me

Dear Stephen

I am now in a position to update you on the outcome of our discussions with our insurers.

Following lengthy negotiations, it is with regret that we have been informed by our insurers that the 2014-2015 policy does not provide cover for your criminal defence costs.
We will continue to offer support where possible .
We will continue to liaise with the Malta Tourism Authority but the unanimous feedback we have received so far is that this is a criminal case and BSAC has no influence over the legal process in Malta.
As you know we have offered expert witness support to your legal team. If you would like to arrange this, please do let me know.

Yours sincerely

Mary Tetley

---------- Post added August 18th, 2015 at 04:19 PM ----------

When someone you love gets taken from before your eyes it changes your outlook on life, I tried and nearly died trying to help but failed, and will bear this guilt forever, the whole enormity slowly dawned on me when I sat beside her and held her hand, no-one should ever have to go through this alone, I always thought BSAC would help me, they let me down when I really needed help and deceived me over and over and over again, saying they would help, would I risk my life trying to help again, yes IN A HEART BEAT

BSAC promised for five weeks to help me and stupidly I gave them the benefit of the doubt, I don’t know the Chief Executive officer or the Chief Operating officer from Adam but I do know when I’m being misled and deceived, but I still trusted them, if they behaved like this to me then they’ll do it again to others

I was asked to post a positive article on facebook to help BSAC which I did, sadly it only helped them concentrate changing the existing insurance policy and prepare for the deluge of enquiries rather than getting the help I really needed, and in reality they never had any intention of helping

BSAC were asked by my solicitor to reply with insurance details, and their response was to ask for additional information that they already had, a thinly veiled delaying tactic that fooled no-one, which they used again and again

The Honorary Secretary barred me from the BSAC forum for reporting the facts about the case, he cited “sub judice”, another BSAC member who is a Barrister said their response were utter rubbish, he also mentioned two people dying in his post on “thediveforum”, this just paid lip service to the sad event, the post was just to buy more time and do nothing, because BSAC never had any intention to support me in anyway what so ever

If BSAC had been forthright and honest from the outset I could have begun to arrange funding five weeks ago, not only have BSAC let me down but they have let all concerned members down, if they wriggle out of helping me when I really needed help then they will wriggle out of helping you when you need their support

After 15 years as a BSAC member I will not be renewing my membership again, it won’t run out in September I will cancel it, why would I want to belong to an organisation that lies and deceives its members, I can see clearly now why BSAC’s membership is declining, it’s all self-inflicted and this tragic episode won’t help them, my £47 membership fees just don’t compare to Malta Tourism Authorities sponsorship

Thank you to everyone for their kind words of support and comfort, I apologise profusely for BSAC’s breath-taking stupidity and deception, I now need to look at other ways to fund my defence because BSAC won’t help, after publically saying they would, sadly the irreparable damage to their reputation will far outweigh any financial help they could have given me

 

[wrybosome]

Does BSAC insurance routinely cover legal fees for the insured? I'm reasonably sure that DANS doesnt.

Good luck to you, Stephen.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[hilljo88]

Sorry to hear of these deaths, and your subsequent difficulties with the authorities.

Did I read this correctly that the cause of death was determined to be IPE? Is it surprising that there were two incidences of IPE among the, what, 8 individuals on this particular dive?

 

[Freewillow]

Well, there were in fact only 4 divers. My first reaction was something strange with the gas in the bottles, because 2 IPE among 4 divers is almost "supranormal".

 

[delta-v]

BSAC has released a statement today wherein they will cover the diver's legal costs up to GBP 100,000. This is despite the fact that BSAC's insurance policy in force at the time does not cover defence of criminal charges. BSAC's new insurance policy going forward now does cover "criminal defence costs for manslaughter, corporate manslaughter and culpable homicide".

Good luck Steve. I hope this nightmare ends quickly. I am also sorry for the loss of your partner.


Full text of email received from BSAC today:

As a BSAC member, you may be aware of the case involving one of our members, Stephen Martin. Stephen was present on a dive in Malta when two divers very sadly died in June 2014. An inquest held in the UK in February 2015 returned a verdict of diving accident. However, Stephen has been charged with involuntary homicide by a court in Gozo, and served with an extradition order to return to Malta.

BSAC would very much like to assist Stephen in his defence of the charge. We have been advised that the 2014/2015 BSAC Third-Party Liability Insurance that was in place at the time of the incident does not cover Stephen’s defence costs. Council has taken legal advice as to whether BSAC is liable to fund Stephen’s legal costs and has been advised that it is not. Of course this does not help Stephen, which is something we would like to do.

At a special meeting Council agreed that BSAC will assist Stephen with the legal costs of his defence of the case, up to £100,000. We have met with Stephen today to move this forward. Stephen has also agreed for this statement to be released.

BSAC is a members’ organisation and Council is elected to represent all its members’ diving interests. In reaching the decision to support Stephen, Council has considered the needs of the membership as a whole, and we believe that this is an appropriate use of BSAC funds. BSAC Council hopes that the majority of our members will feel the same way.

Beyond our deep regret that two fellow divers died in this incident, and our sadness that Stephen has faced hardship since that day, we are extremely sorry that we have been unable to release this news previously.

We are aware that there is a school of thought held by some of our members that BSAC has been lacking, to date, in its support for Stephen. We were unable to make any financial commitment to Stephen until we had exhausted all our discussions with our insurers on his behalf and received legal advice. It would have been entirely inappropriate for us to comment either privately (to Stephen) or publicly until those were complete. The lengthy delays in deciding how to proceed are regrettable. We would like to say sorry to Stephen for the concern this has caused and promise our members that we will do better in the future.

We will make further details regarding diving responsibilities and diving in Malta, along with a detailed FAQ guide to the current Third-Party Liability insurance to complement the official policy document, available to all members as soon as possible. The 2015/2016 Third-Party Liability Policy with Liberty Insurance includes criminal defence costs for manslaughter, corporate manslaughter and culpable homicide.

 

[Centrals]

Peanut but much better than nothing at all!!

 

[Freewillow]

FINALLY the BSAC is talking. About time.