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Updated | Court revokes fines for Police Commissioner, prime minister’s spokesperson
Commissioner files for revocation of fine • magistrate issues arrest warrant for prime minister’s spokesperson for not attending hearing.
11 July 2013, 12:00am
Chris Mangion
Chris Mangion
1 min read
Kurt Farrugia (right) was fined 300 for not attending a court hearing.
Magistrate Francesco Depasquale has revoked arrest warrants and fines against public officers who early today were found in contempt of court during this morning's libel sittings.
Police Commissioner Peter Paul Zammit was fined €600 when no police officer turned up for two criminal libel proceedings. The criminal libels were instituted against inewsmalta.com editor Aleander Balzan and l-orizzont editor Josef Caruana on a complaint by Lawrence Zammit.
Although prosecuting police officer Sarah Magri was not inside the courtroom, none of the court marshals called out the names of the officers in the corridors as per usual practice. Both Magri and Commissioner of Police Peter Paul Zammit were present in the law courts at the time.
The two officers have filed a request for the revocation of the fines, saying that at no point did the court marshals call out their names.
When the hearing resumed, Magri took the stand to inform Magistrate Depasquale that she was in the court building on other duties and had turned up at the designated hall in the belief that her court hearing was scheduled for 11am, rather than 10:30am.
Depasquale threw out her explanation, insisting that the court did not issue its decrees frivolously.
In a subsequent sitting, an arrest warrant was ordered against the Prime Minister's head of communications Kurt Farrugia when he failed to attend the hearing, and fined €300.
Chris Mangion is MaltaToday’s photojournalist, joining the newspaper in 2013.
In 1995...
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CIS! CIS! Wouldn't €15 have been more equitable? Is it any wonder the Maltese hold the Courts in very, very low esteem!
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Certi magistrati jfakkruk fil-medjuwevu. Nahseb kienu jkunu minn dawk li jaharquk haj jekk kont tonqoshom!
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@vigilanti - What a load of rubbish you talk. DCG was acquitted of the charge, not let off (do you even understand the difference ?)As for the hearing, it turned out that the court had been notified of her inability to attend, long before the sitting, hence the revocation. Again, are you capable of discerning the difference ?
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The man in the street is not an expert of law, bar a few. But as others have remarked so far, the decisions of today and those in respect of Ms Galizia do not make sense. Can no body investigate why a PN sympathiser is fined only €15 and €100 for various comptempts of court and others who do not make a fuss each time they write or talk are handed heavy fines. Shame on our courts! As far as I know the law should be equal to everyone. I have the feeling that this statement does not apply for our law courts...correct me if I am wrong. Thank you.
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Issa anke l-Qorti qed taghmel il-U-Turns dwar id- decizjonijiet li tkun hadet? Vera Malta Taghhom ilkoll, anke il-Qorti saret taghhom.
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Kemm mexa differenti ma Daphne. Tghid hemm spjegazzjoni.
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Kurt Farrugia was fined €300 for not attending a court hearing.
Caruana Galizia acquitted of ‘hit-and-run’ and let off with €15 fine for disobeying police orders.
Ms Caruana Galizia was fined €100 for contempt of court after failing to show up in the first sitting. That decision was later revoked when it was explained that Ms Caruana Galizia had been abroad.
And the our Courts of Justice claim to be imparcial!
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Hekk sew Gustizzja ma Kullhadd. Anki kien hawn min wehel €15.
