Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1404527
5 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 25 AUGUST 2021 MATTHEW AGIUS A man from Qormi has been charged with grievously injuring a man with a knife during feast cele- brations in Birkirkara. Butcher Cranston Portelli, 30, of Qormi was charged with allegedly stabbing another man in the hand, during a fight at the feast of St Helen in Birkirkara, on Sunday. Portelli was arraigned before mag- istrate Donatella Frendo Dimech yesterday afternoon by police In- spector Andrew Agius and charged with grievous bodily harm, carrying a weapon during the commission of an offence, carrying a knife in public without a licence, uttering insults and threats and breaching the peace. The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and his lawyer, Mario Mifsud, requested bail. Inspector Agius objected due to the nature of the injuries suffered by the alleged victim and because of the fact that there were witnesses who were yet to testify. "There was public violence. There are people who know the victim who are yet to testify," said the inspector. Mifsud, however, informed the court that the incident was captured on video in its entirety. The area was well covered by CCTV and this had already been collected in the magis- terial inquiry, explained the lawyer. The man and his victim did not know each other and lived in differ- ent towns. Mifsud showed the court Face- book posts which the alleged victim had posted since the incident on Sunday, in which the injured man boasted of being "an iron man," "I never die...God is great...body of iron...only can stop me with weap- ons...pussies," reads one post. "He's strong enough to come to testify at the next sitting," Mifsud remarked. The court noted that the man had apparently sufficiently recovered to be posting selfies on Facebook and doubting that his attitude towards testifying would change in the meantime. Portelli was released on bail against a €7,000 deposit and a €3,000 per- sonal guarantee, and ordered to sign a bail book daily. He was ordered to observe a curfew and is prohibited from approaching any prosecution witnesses and from going to Birkir- kara, Msida and Gzira. The court also issued a Protection Order in favour of the alleged vic- tim. Man charged over stabbing at St Helen's feast MATTHEW AGIUS THE Commissioner of Police has described the allegation, made by Yorgen Fenech's de- fence lawyers, that the police are in possession of a complete mobile phone extraction relat- ing to Keith Schembri, as simply a vexatious "fishing expedition," intended solely to drag out pro- ceedings further. In a reply to a surprise court application filed by Fenech's defence, in which it was claimed that data from Schem- bri's missing mobile had some- how been extracted by the po- lice, Angelo Gafa' put the onus of proving the claims on the defence. The Constitutional case deal- ing with Fenech's request for the removal of the lead investi- gator investigating the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia was due for judgement in Novem- ber, but in the application filed earlier this month, Fenech's lawyers say that the police had recently taken possession of the full extractions from Keith Schembri's mobile phone. "This mobile phone appears to contain information which could confirm that which the plaintiff is claiming," reads the application, saying that the evi- dence is vital to his case. In his reply filed yesterday af- ternoon, the Commissioner of Police argues that the lawyers' application is procedurally null and that the data analysed to date did not have any relevance to the murder case. If anything it was up to Fenech's legal team to prove what it was alleging and as the investigation into the murder did not contain it, be summoned to explain and prove where this extraction was found, what it contained and its relevance to the proceedings. "In any case, [the request] is vexatious and aimed at drag- ging out the proceedings so that the applicant can contin- ue with a fishing expedition..." said the Commissioner. State Advocate lawyers Chris Soler and Maurizio Cordina signed the reply. Keith Schembri's mobile phone: Police commissioner hits back at 'fishing expedition' by Yorgen Fenech's lawyers Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa' (left) rebutted claims that data from Keith Schembri's (right) missing mobile had been extracted by the police BERNARD Grech has denied he had access to the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry findings before they were pub- lished, refuting a claim made by former prime minister Joseph Muscat. "Joseph Muscat thinks that everyone is like him, when he said he has no doubt that I had access to the inquiry findings in ad- vance – something which I categorically deny," Grech said in an audio message left on Facebook. In a response to Joseph Muscat's interview with Times of Mal- ta, Opposition leader Bernard Grech said that although officially Mucat was no longer prime minister, Robert Abela was a contin- uation of him by protecting everyone. Grech stated that Muscat has no credibility when he tried to discredit the public inquiry's findings. The public inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia concluded that the State, during Muscat's reign, is responsible for her death for having created an atmosphere of impunity. "Joseph Muscat thinks that friendship with criminals is normal. For me it's not," added Grech. The Labour Party is yet to issue any statement in response to the interview and Prime Minister Robert Abela has consistently stated that since Muscat is no longer a member of parliament, he does not consider further action with his regard to be necessary. Bernard Grech denies having prior access to Caruana Galizia public inquiry findings