Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1515242
2 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 31 JANUARY 2024 2 MATTHEW AGIUS magius@mediatoday.com.mt MATTHEW AGIUS magius@mediatoday.com.mt A court has found a man who wrote on Facebook that he would have doused the president of anti-corruption NGO Repub- blika with acid, guilty of publish- ing hate speech. Johan Vella, 42, from Gzira, had been charged late last year, over a comment he had pub- lished on Facebook on March 2, 2023, in reaction to a picture of Repubblika president Rob- ert Aquilina affixing a sign that reads "Joseph Muscat il-Prim Korrott", to the door of Mus- cat's office. "With all due respect, were a clown like this guy to stick rub- bish on my property, I would throw a can of acid at him. What right does he have to vandalise people's doors? Who does this can of trash think he is?" Vella had written about Aquilina. In a decision handed down earlier today, Magistrate Ian Farrugia ruled that the charges of misuse of telecommunica- tions equipment and inciting hatred against another person or group of persons on the grounds of political or other opinion had been proven. Describing Aquilina as "a vociferous critic of the gov- ernment and other individu- als in high-ranking positions in the country, and above all of ex-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat," the court also ac- knowledged what it said was the "highly charged political climate in Malta." "While Repubblika and Rob- ert Aquilina have their own following, it is a known fact that the stature of the ex-Prime Minister in the eyes of his fol- lowers is certainly not unim- portant," said the court. Both Muscat and Aquilina had "an obligation to accept criticism irrespective of how harsh it is, but also had the right to ensure that it was in conformity with the law," said the court. There was no doubt that Re- pubblika's press conference was "clear, direct, but above all peaceful," said the magis- trate, contrasting it with the defendant, who instead of criticising him constructively and peacefully, chose to use words which were "not on- ly harsh, but which certainly have threatening and abusive characteristics." Through his words, said the magistrate, after taking into account all the surrounding circumstances, Vella had cre- ated the probability of inciting violence and hatred towards Aquilina. When the crime of incitement to hatred was introduced, the legislator had wanted to im- pose clear and legitimate lim- itations on personal behaviour "in a society that aspires to be civil and democratic," observed the court. Handing down a sentence of nine months in prison, sus- pended for three years, to- gether with a fine of €5,000, the court said the punishment reflected a number of factors, amongst them justice and fair- ness, mercy and deterrence as well as "the thirst that the au- thorities should have for the protection of society in gener- al." At the end of the sitting, Vel- la's lawyer gave notice of his intention to appeal. Inspector Kylie Borg appeared for the prosecution. Lawyer Lennox Vella was de- fence counsel. Lawyer Jason Azzoprdi repre- sented Aquilina as parte civile. Suspended sentence, €5,000 fine for man who made acid threat to NGO president Man found guilty of hate speech after writing on Facebook he would doused the president of NGO Repubblika Robert Aquilina with acid Repubblika President Robert Aquilina (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday) A man has denied assaulting a drunk customer at a kebab shop in St. Paul's Bay on Sunday night, in an incident which left the oth- er man in intensive care. Fawzi Khalifa, a 20-year-old Egyptian national, was arraigned before magistrate Nadine Lia earlier today, charged with hav- ing caused grievous bodily harm to a Ukrainian man and breach- ing the peace. The defence is claiming that the victim had gone to the shop while heavily intoxicated and had insisted on staying after he was asked to leave by Khalifa, who is the son of the shop owner. In the ensuing argument, the defendant punched the drunken man, who subsequently fell to the ground. The court was told that the Ukrainian man had later been found to have a blood alcohol level of 307 mg/dl. He was taken to hospital by ambulance and re- mains in a critical condition, un- der intensive care. Khalifa's law- yers are arguing that the man's injuries were, at least in part, the result of his drunken fall. The victim remains in hospital, but is no longer in the ITU. Khalifa pleaded not guilty to the charges. Bail was set at €3,000, which had to be deposited in the acts of the proceedings. The defendant was ordered to sign a bail book every day and not to approach the victim. Police Inspector Bernard Grech is prosecuting, together with lawyers Maria Meilaq Schembri and Claire Sammut from the Of- fice of the Attorney General. Lawyers Mario Mifsud, Nich- olas Mifsud, Alfred Abela and Rene Darmanin are assisting Khalifa. Kebab shop employee charged after leaving drunk customer grievously injured