Muscat lawyer hails Vitals inquiry disclosure ruling

A magistrate's ruling to allow the disclosure of acts from the Vitals inquiry to every future defendant has been hailed as an important achievement by one of the lawyers representing Joseph Muscat.

Magistrate Rachel Montebello, who will be presiding the criminal case, yesterday ruled that all parties were to be given access to the acts of the inquiry. Her ruling came a day after Judge Giovanni Grixti's decision to grant provide Muscat with a copy of the parts of the magisterial inquiry, 

In a Facebook post, Charlon Gouder welcomed Friday's ruling, which ordered the Commissioner of Police and the Attorney General to disclose the relevant parts of the inquiry to the defendants, ahead of their arraignment in three weeks’ time.

“Also this time, as this is what should have happened, the court ordered that this copy be also released to the other persons involved and recommended for charges.”

Gouder drew comparisons with the Egrant inquiry into allegations of an offshore setup intended to launder kickbacks from passport sales, which did not find connections to Muscat's wife, Michelle.

“I am convinced more than ever before that the truth about this second Egrant will be known soon. I am convinced that once the details of this greatest of injustices become known, the people will immediately judge the person who washed his hands, justice will pass judgement over the years and history will condemn those who were behind these machinations forever.”

Gouder remarked that it was a shame that valid and talented people were being “lost during this long and difficult process,” and expressed solidarity with former deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne, who stepped down yesterday, after he too was earmarked for prosecution by the inquiry.

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