Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/972198
maltatoday SUNDAY 22 APRIL 2018 26 A man who, police said, escaped his police escort and fell down the bas- tions beneath the Floriana police HQ, claimed on his deathbed he was beaten up by his interrogating police officers, MaltaToday can confirm. Nicholas Azzopardi, from Floriana, was 38 years old when he died five days ago. On 9 April he was reported by police to have escaped from police HQ, jumped over a wall overlooking the trade school behind the HQ, and taken to hospital where he was in danger of dying. But Azzopardi awoke from a coma 13 days later to recount his tragic ordeal to his family. Three hours before his death, Magistrate Tonio Vella was ques- tioning him over allegations that he had been beaten up while in police custody, then thrown off the bastions beneath the police depot. The shocking allegations have been kept under wraps. Home Affairs and Justice Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici is aware of the allegations and so is the Commis- sioner of Police, but the media was not informed of the current magisterial inquiry into the allegations. On 8 April, Nicholas Azzopardi, a senior Enemalta foreman and father of two, was called in at the police HQ where he faced a gruelling interroga- tion by two police officers when at one point, he was physically attacked by the officers. Azzopardi, a well-built man, re- taliated by pushing one of the officers against the wall. But a kick by the other officer in his ribcage left him with four broken ribs and a punctured lung. Azzopardi subsequently lost conscious- ness. The two police officers had no marks on their body. Azzopardi was later found in a ditch by the bastions beneath the police HQ, behind the CID building. That evening, the police issued a statement saying a man had been injured when he jumped over a wall while trying to escape from police headquarters. The incident was reported to have taken place at around 6pm, alleging the man had evaded his escorting officer and tried to escape by jumping over a wall. Civil Protection Department officers were called in to rescue Azzopardi, who was certified to be in danger of losing his life and suffering from very serious injuries. He was taken to the Intensive Therapy Unit at Mater Dei and given his last rites. Azzopardi however hung on to life – thirteen days later, he came to his senses, telling his family of the events that led to his fall from the bastions and how he was beaten up at the police HQ. He even said he was in a position to recognise the officers. Azzopardi died in Ward 1 on 22 April – three hours before, police officers had accompanied Magistrate Tonio Vella who talked to him at length in private. When contacted, Home Affairs and Justice Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bon- nici would not confirm if the police of- ficers allegedly involved in the incident have been suspended or are still active with the police force. He did not comment over why such a serious allegation had not been com- municated to the press. Send your letters to: The Editor, MaltaToday, MediaToday Ltd. Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 | Fax: (356) 21 385075 E-mail: newsroom@mediatoday.com.mt. Letters to the Editor should be concise. No pen names are accepted. Police brutality led to death from 'fall', inquiry launched Opinion News – 24 April, 2008 201820172016 201520142013 201220112010 2009 2008 IVF amendments cancel out nature's differences Justice must be served Cana Movement is sensitive to the desire of couples to bear and bring up children and they should be supported in this noble vocation. The current Embryo Protection Act favours assistance to infertile couples. Children are gifts and not entitlements or commodities. IVF policies should therefore not relegate the rights of the unborn child to the desire to bear children at all costs, no mat- ter how noble that desire may be. The balance between the rights of the unborn child and the interests of infertile couples is currently struck by the Embryo Protection Act. The proposed amendments allow embryo freezing which inevitably leads to embryo stock piling. Human embryos are des- tined to become frozen orphans in violation of the dignity with which every unborn child should be treated. The proposed amendments also contemplate the possibility of anonymous gamete donation and surrogacy. These practices de- prive children from being brought up by their natural parents and in some instances from the right to know the identity of their biologi- cal parents. In the name of equality, the proposed amendments to the Embryo Protection Act attempt to cancel out differences endowed by nature itself, they refute the complimentarity of mothers and fathers in the bringing up of chil- dren. Far from promoting equal- ity, the proposed amendments are discriminatory, allowing some unborn children to proceed to gestation and birth whilst others are frozen. Cana Movement appeals to civil society and to politicians of goodwill from both sides of the political spectrum to vote against the proposed amendments to the Embryo Protection Act which are a travesty of human dignity, to take a stand against embryo freezing and in favour of the rights of children to be brought up by their natural parents. James Chappell, Cana Movement We, the undersigned lecturers, teachers and graduates of philos- ophy, are very concerned at the fact that, while the importance of ethics has been recognised to the extent that it is being taught in primary schools, there seems to be no serious attempt for such ethical discourse to take place on serious public policy issues. With reference to the proposed amendments to the 2012 Embryo Protection Act, we urge govern- ment to not rush but rather to promote a genuine deliberation which processes inputs from experts in all relevant fields on foreseeable effects, as befitting an issue concerning the most basic human values. Dr Clive Zammit, Dr Mark Sultana, Mr Vincent Riolo, Dr Manuel Vella (University of Malta), Mariana Sacco, Ruth Mifsud Mamo (Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary), Francois Zammit (St Edward's College), Stephanie Falzon (St Aloysius College Sixth Form), Anne Marie Vincenti, Robert Farrugia, David Schembri The story published on Sunday 15 April, namely about the laptop used by Daphne Caruana Galizia right up to the day when she was so brutally murdered, not being in the possession of the expert investigators, has shocked the country. MaltaToday asked the inquir- ing magistrate Anthony Vella if he had asked Daphne Caruana Galizia's family to hand over the said laptop, but the magistrate replied that he cannot answer this important question because his inquiry is still ongoing; while Daphne Caruana Galizia's husband Peter Caruana Galizia, when asked also by MaltaToday about the whereabouts of the said laptop, replied that he was not giving any interviews or commenting. But then he spoke during the event held in com- memoration of the six months since the murder of his wife. I consider the withholding of such important information from the investigators of such a brutal murder, as tantamount to obstructing the course of justice, and the so vociferously mentioned rule of law, especial- ly by those who on the sixteenth of each month, gather before the Great Siege memorial call- ing for justice and accusing the authorities of "impunity". It is now up to the inquiring magistrate to prove that he has done everything possible to get hold of this vital piece of infor- mation, which could lead to the mastermind behind the assas- sination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. And it is also up to the slain blogger's family to prove that they have given all the nec- essary help to the magistrate, and the investigators, and have not obstructed the investigation and the rule of law in any way or form. But the admission of Daphne's sister Corinne Vella that the said laptop is in possession of the family, confirms otherwise. Eddy Privitera Mosta Triton Fountain, a wonderful sight I would like to congratulate you on the Triton Fountain, particularly during the evening with the lights on: what a wonderful sight. We look at Malta regularly via the many webcams you have around the island. John Wickland Aberaeron, Wales