Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1520947
OK, so we all know that the Maltese criminal justice sys- tem can be utterly incompre- hensible to us lesser mortals, even at the best of times. I myself have spent count- less hours in court (either as a witness, or a court reporter) scratching my head in bewil- derment, as lawyers and judges argued amongst themselves in what sounded like a mixture of medieval Dog Latin, and 12th Century Siculo-Arabic. [Quick digression: if any IT whizz-kids out there are read- ing this… it would be a great help if someone developed a mobile phone app that simul- taneously translated legal gob- bledygook, into a language we can all understand. That way, we would instantly know that when a judge says 'DEKOR- RIBLI', it means 'within the prescribed terms that run from the date of notification'… and not, as I had always assumed: 'THAT GUY IS HORRIBLE!' End digression.] But I have to admit I find myself far more flummoxed today, than I ever have been in the past. In fact, there is so much I am currently struggling to comprehend, that I scarce know where to even begin. Let's start with the most re- cent. On Friday, it was report- ed that: "Joseph Muscat [re- quested] publication of Vitals inquiry evidence against him." The article helpfully explained (because like I said, it's compli- cated) that: "the court [had] re- cently granted [Muscat] access to the parts of the magisterial inquiry into the government's fraudulent deal with Vitals Global Healthcare, where he is mentioned." Specifically, Muscat's lawyers requested that: "access to the documentation in our posses- sion, consisting of acts from the inquiry which were depos- ited by the Attorney General after the April 9 decree, does not remain restricted to the parties in this case, but also be deposited in the court's regis- try in order to form part of the acts of this case, visible and ac- cessible to anyone who wants to see the file." Now: nothing particular- ly hard to understand, there. Joseph Muscat had already declared, in a One TV inter- view, that: "if the inquiry is published, it will prove that the case against [me] is built on conjecture, lies, twisting of facts, and hearsay." And if that does indeed turn out to be true… Muscat will almost cer- tainly go on to win the case, as he seems so confident of doing. So from his own (real or feigned) perspective, at least – and bearing in mind that, unlike you or I, he has actually seen the relevant parts of this inquiry, with his own eyes – Joseph Muscat clearly believes that its publication would only work out to his own advantage, in the long run. But that brings us to the first of many anomalies. Repubbli- ka (the NGO which had origi- nally requested the inquiry, to begin with) is also requesting the publication of the magis- trate's findings. Not just those parts that are relevant to Jo- seph Muscat, please note: but the entire report. Now: I expect you will not need me to inform you that, all things considered, 'Joseph Muscat' and 'Repubblika' are not exactly looking at this case from the same angle. One is desperately trying to avoid an 18-year prison term; the oth- er is just as desperately trying to secure Muscat's convic- tion, and imprisonment. It is honestly hard to imagine two more extreme polar opposites, than that… Yet there they both are, ef- fectively insisting on the pub- lication of the same magisteri- al inquiry; and both also very clearly under the same illusion that this will somehow 'fur- ther their own cause, to the detriment of their adversary)' [Note: Muscat went as far as to predict that his acquittal will prove to be 'the last nail in the PN's coffin'…] Erm… sorry to have to ex- plain the obvious, but: it can't do both those things at once, you know. Given that this in- quiry has already resulted in criminal charges being pressed against 19 individuals – of whom Muscat is but one – its publication can only realisti- cally result in one of two, mu- tually-exclusive outcomes. Limiting ourselves only to the case against Muscat: it will either reinforce the view that he is 'guilty as hell'; or it will reconfirm the suspicion that Muscat has somehow been 'framed', by a dedicated con- sortium of mortal enemies. The one outcome we can't realistically expect, under the present circumstances, is that the Vitals inquiry simply 'fizzle maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 MAY 2024 10 OPINION Why is it so 'vital' to publish the inquiry immediately? Raphael Vassallo The one outcome we can't realistically expect, under the present circumstances, is that the Vitals inquiry simply 'fizzle out with a whimper, instead of a bang' (like so many others before it – including Egrant – have been known to do)