Cannabis man home after eight years in Maltese jail
AFATHER who spent eight years in jail in Malta for having five cannabis plants has returned home to Cardiff.
Daniel Holmes, originally from Newport, was handed a decade-long sentence in 2011 in the controversial case.
Mr Holmes returned home to the UK on Thursday and was reunited at Bristol Airport with his wife, Marzena, who he last saw seven months ago.
Dressed in a top complete with the Welsh rugby team logo, Mr Holmes was clearly emotional at returning to the UK.
Speaking to media website Lovin Malta, which filmed his return, Mr Holmes said: “It feels pretty good to be back on firm ground.
“I’d like to thank everybody for all your best wishes, and good luck to everybody.”
Speaking on Thursday, Mr Holmes described how he had a quick shower at the prison before being ushered into a car that headed straight to Malta Airport’s immigration office.
“I sat in that room for about half an hour, maybe a bit more, and then I was amongst the population,” he said. “The last thing the immigration policeman said to me was, ‘Good luck, Sir’.
“And I thought, after eight years of having to call people ‘Sir’, I had an immigration officer tell me ‘Sir’! And that felt quite good, to be honest.”
Mr Holmes was convicted on the island of Gozo in 2011, where he was handed a decade-long sentence at Corradino Correctional Facility near the Maltese capital, Valletta.
He was originally arrested in 2006 and held for 11 days before being bailed.
Later he was held on remand for almost a year on suspicion of car theft.
He was found not guilty of that allegation, but the authorities have refused to give him back the time he served in that case.
After the cannabis plant trial, a Constitutional Court hearing found his “right to a fair trial had been breached”.
But his sentence remained the same and he was awarded just £5,500 compensation.
Mr Holmes’ flatmate, Barry Lee, was arrested alongside him.
Mr Lee, a 44-year-old from Bolton, was found hanged in 2010 while awaiting sentencing.
The following year, and after 65 court appearances, Mr Holmes pleaded guilty on legal advice that he might receive a lesser sentence.
Despite the prosecution only asking for eight years, the judge stunned Mr Holmes – who said the drug was for personal use only – with a tenand-a-half-year jail term and a €23,000 (£19,000) fine.
Islanders have widely backed him, citing cases where more serious offenders received lesser sentences.
Mr Holmes and wife Marzena, now living in Cardiff, married inside the 175-year-old prison in May 2012.