Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1535788
THE Labour Party is discuss- ing Floriana councillor Justin Haber's court case internally before deciding if any action should be taken against him. Speaking to MaltaToday, La- bour deputy leader Alex Agi- us Saliba said he is speaking to the victim in the case Pearl Vella Haber, and will also be requesting a copy of the court sentence. "I have spoken to Pearl over the past weeks, and after ana- lysing the court sentence, will be speaking to Justin Haber ac- cordingly," he said. Agius Saliba said the victim had reached out to him a cou- ple of weeks ago, and he has since stayed in contact. He told MaltaToday the case will be approached sensitively as it is a delicate one which involves family members. Labour Floriana councillor and veteran goalkeeper Justin Haber was on Tuesday found guilty of threatening his sister by Magistrate Nadia Helena Vella. The charges date back to 8 January when out of the blue, Haber sent his sister, Pearl Vel- la Haber, a threatening voice message, telling her: "I will be- head you". This led to her filing charges against her brother. The situa- tion arose following a dispute between her and their mother. Haber did not admit to the charges filed against him, but upon testifying, he admitted to his wrongful actions. After news of the decision was made public, Haber took to Facebook to defend himself, saying that while acknowledg- ing his wrong doing, he was in an "overwhelmed and emotion- ally vulnerable" state. "In such moments, the prior- ity becomes the wellbeing of that parent. Under immense stress, people sometimes say things they do not mean. That was the case here," Haber said. "While this does not excuse my actions, I hope it offers some understanding of the emotional state I was in at the time. I nev- er intended to cause harm." He also expressed his "dis- appointment at those who at- tempt to create a story out of the suffering of others." The court decision was made pub- lic, and no court order was is- sued to remove the names of individuals involved in the case. GOVERNMENT MP Rosianne Cutajar said "it is impossible to not recognise the smell of mar- ijuana," contradicting what Po- lice Commissioner Angelo Gafà has said about the impracticality of enforcing the fine on people causing a nuisance with canna- bis odour. She was interview on TVM's Xtra on Monday evening, and was asked on recently intro- duced amendments to cannabis laws which saw the introduction of fines for people who cause an odour nuisance when smoking. Speaking on the legal amend- ment, Xtra host Saviour Balzan told Cutajar how the govern- ment seemes reactive to pub- lic outcry, instead of thinking through legislation. Cutajar replied saying the fine will not affect those who con- sume cannabis responsibly, and protects people who do not want to consume the substance. She said that there was a lot of discussion prior to the legal amendment, and the new fine will be used as a tool to deal with the inconvenience created peo- ple smoking cannabis where it is not permitted by law. Labour Party President Alex Sciberras agreed with Cutajar saying there are already laws against other nuances such as noise, and so enforcing the new regulation would not be chal- lenging. Asked on the legal amend- ment, Opposition MP Ryan Callus said if legislation is not implemented properly, it can- not be enforced properly. He did skirt around questioning by Balzan on whether he agreed with the law or not. Euthanasia debate Labour President Sciberras al- so discussed the ongoing eutha- nasia public consultation. He said the debate was long overdue and the public consul- tation was not launched with the agenda to disrupt the PN. The party hasn't made their stance on the topic public. Drawing on personal experi- ence, Sciberras insisted patients would have the final say on whether to go through with the process, saying palliative care should be discussed separately. Opposition MP Ryan Callus did not agree with the PL Pres- ident, saying experts in the field have insisted palliative care should be discussed in tandem with euthanasia. Opposition MP Rebekah Borg said empathy should be central to discussing euthanasia. When pressed by Balzan about the Nationalist Party's stance on the public consultation, she said internal discussions are ongoing on the topic. That is when Rosianne Cutajar took a jab at the PN, saying she is not surprised the Opposition does not have a clear position on the topic. She said empathy is not enough for someone suf- fering with a terminal illness. "They deserve the choice to end their suffering." Gharghur conundrum On the ousting of the former Nationalist Għargħur mayor Helen Gauci, Opposition MPs said move was an attack on de- mocracy. Sciberras on the other hand said the PN is "protesting against a law which they wrote." He blamed the PN for allowing the situation to develop enough for a councillor to step down, as her "genuine concerns were not being heard". Rebekah Borg said this is not an issue of leadership, but once again a question of democracy. Borg also spoke about Daniel Attard and the ongoing corrup- tion investigation by Belgian po- lice. She insisted he was not the one who requested his parlia- mentary immunity be waivered, but the Belgian police. Rosianne Cutajar jumped to Attard's defence, saying the PN was not so concerned with eth- ics when EP President Roberta Metsola didn't declare her hus- band's financial interests and employed her sister's husband as cabinet secretary. Cutajar said "the rules are for everyone except Metsola." The government MP also questioned the Nationalist MPs if when Op- position leader Bernard Grech visited China had met with any representatives from Huawei. 6 NEWS 6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 28 MAY 2025 ILENIA DEBONO idebono@mediatoday.com.mt Labour Floriana councillor and former Malta goalkeeper Justin Haber behind the Valletta law court building Impossible' to not recognise the smell of cannabis, Rosianne Cutajar says on new law MP Rosianne Cutajar Labour to discuss Justin Haber case internally before deciding if action should be taken against him KARL AZZOPARDI kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt