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maltatoday SUNDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2018 News 3 PAUL COCKS THE removal on Friday night of a number of billboards calling for justice in the case investigating the murder of Daphne Caruana Gali- zia, was "proof of the regime using its power to suppress criticism", protesters said. OccupyJustice had installed the three billboards and banners on Thursday night, four months to the day after the journalist was killed in a car bomb. But the three billboards were re- moved on Friday night because they were illegal. The billboards' illegality was widely reported in the Maltese press, but no enforcement ever took place because political parties regularly rented them for propa- ganda purposes. In a statement yesterday, the group said that the enforcement overnight "was another episode of the regime using its power to tram- ple on the basic freedoms of those who would criticise it… The Gov- ernment may have had every rea- son at law to enforce the removal of billboards but it had neglected those reasons every day before yes- terday. "It decided to enforce yesterday because our Ebbing, Missouri style protest billboards went up that same morning." The billboards and banners set up were reminiscent of those in the Oscar-nominated film Three Bill- boards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, in which a mother seeks justice for her murdered daughter. The three billboards, all black on red – in the same style as the Hol- lywood movie – carried the mes- sages: "A JOURNALIST KILLED. NO JUSTICE." – "A COUNTRY ROBBED. NO JUSTICE." – "NO RESIGNATIONS. NO JUSTICE." OccupyJustice said that the Gov- ernment was warning all business- es that providing a service to civil society would bring retribution. "The climate of fear that has gripped the nation is justified by the discriminate application of the law to serve the interests of the powerful." "The Government's zeal for en- forcement of the law contrasts with the protection it gives to people who should evidently be investigat- ed and perhaps indicted namely: Keith Schembri, Konrad Mizzi." New billboard regulations Anyone wanting to place a bill- board in Malta now has to follow a three-step process involving per- mits and licences from the Plan- ning Authority, the Lands Author- ity and Transport Malta, after new regulations were introduced by le- gal notice earlier this month. The main problem with bill- boards in the past was the non- payment of the required fee for the use of public land to the Lands Au- thority, following the issuance of a billboard permit by the Planning Authority. It is now up to Transport Malta to issue a licence, on the condition that the billboard has been certified as a safe structure by an engineer and is not an obstacle to drivers. Tackling illegal billboards It was only in 2016 that legislation was introduced seeking the remov- al of the illegal billboards that had peppered the Maltese islands for the previous decade, some of which were also used by the Labour Party during its political campaigns. The Malta Environment and Planning Authority's enforcement unit had, in fact, identified 187 such illegal billboards and had is- sued enforcement orders calling on a number of billboard operators to comply with the adverts regula- tions order. Those orders were, for the most part, ignored. The 2016 legal notice sought to ensure a fair competitive market and at the same time ensure serious consideration for aesthetics and the safety of motorists and pedestrians. The term 'Political Advertise- ment' was redefined to ensure that political billboards could only be allowed from the time when an election is announced. Fines were introduced ranging from €1,000 for the first offence, going up to a maximum €5,000. Daphne Caruana Galizia billboards, banners taken down overnight An enforcement on illegal billboards and removal of banners calling for justice for the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has angered activists It was only in 2016 that legislation was introduced seeking the removal of the illegal billboards that had peppered the Maltese islands for the previous decade, some of which were also used by the Labour Party during its political campaigns One of the three billboards erected on Friday morning: the move is inspired by the Hollywood movie 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' PAUL COCKS NATIONALIST MEP David Casa is to ap- pear before Inquiring Magistrate Aaron Bugeja tomorrow, after his request to present as evidence a leaked FIAU report, was ac- cepted. Casa claims that the report, compiled by the Financial Investigation Analysis Unit, con- tains damning evidence against tourism min- ister Konrad Mizzi. Casa expressed his satisfaction with the court's decision to analyse the FIAU report and said he believes that, "the judiciary is the last remaining hope for the Maltese people." "Konrad Mizzi should be nowhere near public office. The staggering amount of infor- mation already in the public domain is suffi- cient to conclude that he's a crook", Casa said. The report is believed to contain details of schemes, systems, behaviour and participa- tion of corruption and money laundering. Casa will be accompanied by his lawyer Na- tionalist MP Jason Azzopardi. Mizzi denounced the accusations as conjec- ture and, in a second statement issued yester- day, said that Casa's "obsession" was a sign of insecurity and was merely intended to mask his "inefficacy as a politician". He said Casa had not made "any contribu- tion to the well-being and prosperity of the Maltese, choosing instead to consistently be destructive to Malta's best interests. He continues to harass me because of tangible achievements, such as Enemalta's turnaround, resolving the out-of-stock medicines problem and more recently, for bringing positive and sustainable change to Air Malta," the minister said. "Achievements that stemmed from situ- ations created by the very PN administration that Casa was at the very forefront of." Five inquiries still to be concluded Magistrate Bugeja is investigating claims that the Prime Minister's wife – Michelle Muscat – is the owner of a secret offshore company in Panama. Foreign expertise has since been requested to help examine a number of computer serv- ers – including those elevated from the offices of Pilatus Bank and Nexia BT – in the court's quest to determine whether the Prime Minis- ter's wife owns a share in the secret Panama- nian company Egrant Inc. Five magisterial inquiries are underway investigating allegations of government cor- ruption following the ICIJ's explosive leak of documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca in 2016: the inquiry into alleged links between Panama-registered company Egrant and the Prime Minister be- ing held by Magistrate Aaron Bugeja, Magis- trate Doreen Clarke's inquiry into the FIAU leak of compliance reports about Pilatus Bank, Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera's inquiry into the leak of a preliminary FIAU report on Pilatus Bank to the then Com- missioner of Police Michael Cassar in April 2016, Magistrate Galea Sciberras' inquiry into Keith Schembri and Brian Tonna of Nexia BT and Magistrate Josette Demicoli's inquiry into allegations of money launder- ing by Keith Schembri and Adrian Hillman through Pilatus Bank. None have yet been concluded. David Casa testifies on FIAU report on Monday Nationalist MEP David Casa