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If we're remembering all that, let's also remember jen who did so much (on here and in the real world) to push Steve's cause and who sadly passed away just over 2 years ago and far too early in life.
The case got pulled the day before by the lying, conniving, corrupt Maltese government. Ooh, look at all the corruption news happening there now, not to mention murder.
I still have the photo of Steve holding his passport that was returned to him a few days later -- and the picture of his tag that wasn't on his leg.
If we're remembering all that, let's also remember jen who did so much (on here and in the real world) to push Steve's cause and who sadly passed away just over 2 years ago and far too early in life.
Yep.
She was someone high in a government with things which are sadly lacking today, morals and principles.
one of the sad things about it all is how that has been lost in some / many / my mind - I hold my hands up (in shame) on that front
my only mitigation is that having got involved formally for Steve to get BSAC to help him, and negotiated with them etc, that is inevitably where my focus was
Cannot manage a link but this is the start of the thread.
31-07-2015, 11:14 AM#1
stephenmartin stephenmartin is offline
Not only am I cute I'm quite dangerous
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290 Malta Arrests
I’ve been a diver with BSAC for 15 years and last June I was diving with two other buddies who died by the Azure Window, Gozo, Malta June 17th 2014, I’ve been charged with involuntary homicide by a secret inquiry in Gozo, and served with an extradition order by the British Police to return to Malta, I will be removed from England and sent to Malta sometime soon to defend myself, and helped by a British doctor who is a specialist in diving medicine and accidents
I have been electronically tagged, and have to report to a police station three times a week and observe a curfew between 11pm and 6am
I was astonished considering the inquest at Brighton & Hove Coroner’s Court in February had commended me and the surviving diver for risking our lives trying to save the divers and had returned a verdict of accidental death for the two divers, who died during the dive
We buddied up and checked each other’s equipment and entered the water then proceeded through the fissure and kept close to the coast at about 10-12m. The others were following, at about 20 minutes into the dive my buddy suddenly turned right and descended finning down, I hadn’t noticed her immediately
but the others did, I thought she must have dropped something and went to recover it
At about 35m, they did a controlled buoyant lift to the surface, she was unconscious. On the surface I tried rescue breaths and instructed the two other divers to get out of the water and towed my buddy to the rocky shore, the sea state had become rough with about a 1m swell which made an exit difficult over the rocks and exit through the Blue hole now impossible the other survivor managed to get out and get help
A German doctor who happened to be among the tourist tried to resuscitate the diver until the emergency services arrived and told us to stop.
A rib was launched and picked up the other diver that had drifted away, he didn’t survive
The authorities confiscated the rented dive equipment, but computers, GoPro cameras were personal have not yet been returned, and no footage from the camera was mentioned on the arrest warrant
At the inquest we heard that both deceased had suffered fatal immersion pulmonary oedemas. The expert witness told the inquest, her reduced oxygen intake would have caused her rapid breathing and unusual behavior.
Before the inquest, we heard of a secret inquiry into the accident was being conducted in Gozo, and the coroner tried without success, to obtain information but the Maltese refused to help, myself and the surviving eye witnesses were not asked to attend
This was a typical dive holiday not a course, I’m a BSAC instructor and an Advanced Diver I was one of the most qualified divers in this particular group, it’s also alleged that I should have given first aid under water, any diver knows this is ridiculous, absurd and impossible, the dive-profile of the of the casualties showed “unorthodox” dive profiles, of course they did it was a rescue, and that I had failed to check for unknown equipment faults whatever they were, they never found any faults either, we all performed buddy-checks before every single dive, It’s also suggested that I didn’t pay any attention to the weather, we abandoned the first dive because of poor weather conditions that day at the El Farroud, photographed the spectacular sea state and ate ice creams and discussed where to go next
This case has been brought to the attention of my local MP, Sir Peter Bottomley. His Parliamentary assistant had told me that the MP was contacting the Maltese High Commission in London to express concern over what would seem an excessive reaction to the emergency that had enveloped he divers and resulted in a failed rescue
The British Police have informed me to keep my phone on and to surrender myself to the Police once informed
Diver Magazine are reporting the case but Wendy Meadows the Chief Operating Office told me BSAC are refusing report this incident in their magazine or to help under their 3rd party insurance policy which comes as part of your membership which appears to be worthless, or mention the facts of this tragic accident in their SCUBA magazine, the article is also receiving a lot of media attention
Last edited by stephenmartin; 20-08-2015 at 11:35 PM. Reason: update
A fully paid up member of the CRAFT Club
I failed to dive in Antartica
I used to have a handle on life but it broke
I’ve been a diver with BSAC for 15 years and last June I was diving with two other buddies who died by the Azure Window, Gozo, Malta June 17th 2014, I’ve been charged with involuntary homicide by a secret inquiry in Gozo, and served with an extradition order by the British Police to return to Malta, I will be
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