Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/914278
maltatoday SUNDAY 10 DECEMBER 2017 2 News YANNICK PACE A war of words unfolded yester- day between the Maltese Govern- ment and a London law firm that accused it of breaching the Caru- ana Galizia family's fundamental rights. The lawyers called for swift ac- tion to remove deputy police com- missioner Silvio Valletta, husband of a Labour minister, from his role in the investigation given the fam- ily's concerns the murder might have political connections. The family has already filed a court request to have Valletta re- moved from the investigation. But the Maltese Government re- plied to Doughty Street Chambers' call for an international investiga- tion into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, saying the family displayed "open con- tempt" towards the Government. The reaction was to a legal opin- ion by lawyers Caoilfhionn Gal- lagher and Jonathan Price, who claimed Malta was in "flagrant vio- lation" of its Article 2 obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. The lawyers said the late journal- ist's sons Peter, Andrew and Mat- thew had now chosen not to return to Malta permanently after "inde- pendent advice" out of fear their safety "may not be guaranteed". But the Maltese government ac- cused the family of being preju- diced towards the officers involved in the investigation. "Such a serious allegation is not based on any proof but only on the open contempt which the clients hold towards the Maltese State," the Government said. "They are very irresponsible allegations in- tended to undermine the cred- ibility and authority of all Maltese institutions nationally and inter- nationally, and cannot be made or taken lightly." The Government said that the call for an international investiga- tion – despite the involvement of the FBI, Europol, Dutch forensic and Finnish investigative authori- ties – could now "really be under- stood as a call for the elimination of all Maltese institutions from the investigation in favour of foreign- ers". "Not only is such a step incon- ceivable in a sovereign and dem- ocratic country but it is also in itself a huge insult to the Maltese Courts, including the institution conducting the Magisterial Inquiry into the murder which was said to enjoy the confidence of all stake- holders," the Government added. "It is clear that the so-called 'Ur- gent Advice' is nothing but more of the same one-sided, uninformed and speculative attacks on a demo- cratically elected Government and on the Maltese State for reasons known to whoever commissioned it." The Government said it was sur- prised at the family's statement opining that the solicitors were basing themselves "solely on the information afforded to them by their clients, provided for publica- tion of what is being called 'urgent advice' on the merits of a Maltese court case which is to be heard for the first time next week. "This attempt to write a com- pletely one-sided judgment in the court case before this is even heard is highly unethical and manifests a lack of respect for the Maltese Courts," said the Government. Doughty Street is a prominent legal firm that specialises in hu- man rights advice, and recently represented former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi in the European Court of Human Rights, after the senator lost his seat over a previous a conviction on tax of- fences and was barred from run- ning in the 2018 election. The law firm rapped the Mal- tese police for failing to update the family about the investigation – forcing them to learn about de- velopments in "grossly inappropri- ate ways", such as from the press and Twitter accounts of politi- cians. In a letter circulated to the press, Doughty Chambers released extensive details of the Caruana Galizias' communications with the police, which the family had origi- nally wished to keep private but now want public "in light of the ap- proach adopted by the authorities and the continuing failure to reply to their private correspondence". The correspondence reveals the police only met the Caruana Galizias three times since the as- sassination – including on the day of the murder, when police offic- ers Kurt Zahra and Keith Arnaud came to the family home in Bidnija to ask questions. Caruana Galizia's sons Mat- thew and Andrew had a meeting with Inspector Nicholas Vella to complain about leaks from the in- vestigation to the press, including about how a suspicious car had been spotted near the scene of the crime. Several emails to the police in this time period, requesting infor- mation were left unanswered. On 31st October, Peter Caruana Galizia wrote to Inspector Vella expressing the family's concerns as to their security. The police never formally re- sponded to this letter, although police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar called Peter Caruana Galizia to tell him there was stat- ic police protection outside his home and later to invite him to a meeting in person on matters purely related to police protec- tion. However, the family made it clear that they wanted some basic responses in writing to their con- cerns before any future meeting. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The Bone case is crucial since mobile phone companies retain data for maximum period of 12 months. Bone, 40, had been investigated in the murder of Gozitan busi- nessman Joseph Baldacchino, shot while parking his car in Valletta in November 2010, after a piece of paper with a scrawled note of the victim's car licence plate number was found in his car. He had been stopped in his car by Mobile Squad police, over information that he was planning to kill police consta- ble Mario Portelli after being seen outside the officer's house. Listed as a suspect, investigators could not gather proofto put him at the scene of the crime. Additionally, the police are look- ing into links between another car bomb victim, businessman John Camilleri, 67, and a possible con- tentious property deal with one of the 10 men arrested Monday. Sev- en of these were released on police bail. Camilleri, known as Giovann 'tas- Sapun', was killed in a car bomb early in the morning on 31 Octo- ber, 2016, in a residential area in St Paul's Bay. Police believe a litiga- tion on a property deal preceded the murder. The most high-profile arrest apart from the three men charged was that of Adrian Agius, 38, the son of murdered car dealer Ray Agius 'tal- Maskar', who was gunned down at the Butterfly Bar in Birkirkara in 2008. Police suspected then that the executor was a Maltese hitman, but the case remains unsolved. Agius featured in Daphne Carua- na Galizia's blog at the time of the More Supermarkets bust, when shareholder Ryan Schembri fled the island after amassing millions in debt. Agius is a director of More Supermarkets, his name flagged in the law courts by creditors seeking a €3.5 million garnishee on the su- permarket directors and owners. In one post, Caruana Galizia dubbed Agius a "crime gang mem- ber" in a post containing photo- graphs of Agius and his wife. All senior police officers involved in the case have been given personal protection and the Caruana Galizia family also has been detailed with two police officers as protection. Monday's arrests in the criminal den of Marsa's harbour area were planned four days in advance when Maltese police presented their evi- dence to Magistrate Anthony Vella to issue the arrests warrants. But the operation itself was only announced early in the morning of 4 December to participating of- ficers and Armed Forces of Malta personnel, who were instructed to hand in their mobile phones in a bid to avoid leakages to third par- ties. London law firm's letter accusing Malta of breaching Caruana Galizia family's fundamental rights Government slams Caruana Galizia claims as 'open contempt for the State' In mourning: the Caruana Galizia family at the funeral of the assassinated journalist. They want deputy police commissioner Silvio Valletta, pictured to the right of Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar, removed from the murder investigation Police search for leads in gangland car bomb vendettas PHOTO JAMES BIANCHI Msida car bomb: at the beginning of 2017, Romeo Bone was targeted in a car bomb attack that failed to take him out. Mobile phone data on this case could provide crucial leads on the criminal enterprise behind all car bomb attacks