BSAC visit Malta to discuss Stephen Martin case with Maltese Authorities

BSAC’s Chief Executive and National Diving Officer travelled to Malta yesterday (10th November) to discuss the case of BSAC member Stephen Martin with the Maltese Authorities.

CEO Mary Tetley and NDO Sophie Heptonstall will be taking the opportunity to make it clear that BSAC is deeply concerned about the criminal prosecution of Stephen Martin and the potential implications for anyone diving in Malta.

Stephen, a dive instructor from the UK, is fighting extradition to Malta where he faces charges of causing the deaths of two friends during a diving holiday.

He has been charged with two involuntary homicides by Maltese authorities after Larissa Hooley, 48, and Nigel Haines, 59, died while diving in June last year.

However, Mr Martin, who has been diving for 15 years, insists he is innocent and has launched a battle against the order which says he should be extradited to the island to face the charge, which carries a maximum ten-year prison sentence.

An inquest into the deaths on June 17, 2014, concluded they were accidental, with both divers suffering from immersion pulmonary oedemas which can affect the respiratory system.

However, the Maltese authorities have accused Mr Martin of being ‘negligent in his obligations’.

They claim he ‘failed to keep a close watch’ of his dive buddy Ms Hooley and should have called off the dive in Gozo due to bad weather conditions.

Mr Martin denies the charges. He said he had been ‘conscious’ of the weather conditions and had abandoned an earlier dive due to poor weather.

He added he had taken advice from local divers about where a safer place to dive would be.

“This was a holiday, there was no official leader of the group,” he said. “I feel like I’m being made a scapegoat by the Maltese government.”

Speaking ahead of the BSAC visit, Mary Tetley said: “The resonance of Stephen’s case among the UK and BSAC diving community is loud and clear and we intend to express this concern directly to the Maltese authorities.”

What are your thoughts on Stephen’s case? Sound off in the comments section below or in the Scubaverse Forum.