In September, we wrote about a British Sub Aqua
Club dive instructor, Stephen Martin, who was fighting
extradition to Malta, where he faced a ten-year
sentence on the charge of causing the deaths of his
girlfriend and a close friend during a dive trip last
June.
Martin was on a diving vacation with eight friends
when his girlfriend of five years descended from 49
feet to 114 feet without warning. He and another
diver went down to help her, but the other diver got
in trouble, and by the time Martin got her to shore,
she had died of a pulmonary edema. The second
diver also died. Martin, a broken man, went home,
but soon Maltese authorities accused him of being
negligent in his obligations and brought charges.
Since he was a certified instructor, "he had failed to
keep a close watch," and should have halted the dive,
due to "prevailing weather conditions."
He was arrested at home in England on July 7 by
local police officers, acting on the European Arrest
Warrant. The next day, a British judge approved his
extradition to Malta, in line with a treaty between the
two countries. He appealed, but was required to wear
an electronic ankle tag and appear before police officers
three times a week.
In January, a deputation from the British Sub
Aqua Club arranged a meeting with the Maltese
Authorities in Malta. It became apparent that there
was confusion as to whether the deceased was an
Open Water Diver (who would only be allowed to
dive in Malta if under instruction) or an Advanced
Open Water Diver, which she was. On January 18,
lawyers for Stephen Martin were advised that all
charges had been dropped.
In a country that is a second home to so many
British citizens, the charges were clearly beyond the
pale. However, they serve as a reminder: when a traveler
is in a foreign country, he is subject to the laws of
that country, period.