Valletta council secretary cleared of misusing Facebook page

The ‎executive secretary of the Valletta local council has been cleared of insulting and threatening a man on Facebook after a court ruled that she had been charged under the wrong law and should not have been charged in the first place.

Gabriella Agius had appeared before the court of magistrates, charged with making criminal threats through electronic means, threatening a person with the aim making financial gain, or compliance to her will, or to defame someone else in August 2016. She was additionally charged with misuse of electronic communications equipment and with insulting the man.

The nature of the insults or threats were not revealed in the judgement, other than Agius was accused of making them in posts made on the local council's own Facebook page. Agius's counsel had contested the charges and had objected to the fact that she had been charged in her personal, not her official capacity.

In his decision on the matter, magistrate Joseph Mifsud began by observing that the proceedings were defective as, while the complaint had been made against the local council and not Agius as an individual, only Agius had been charged. The Local Councils Act states that legal representation of local councils was vested "in the mayor together with the executive secretary."

Another issue which had to be tackled by the court was that of whether posts on Facebook were regulated by the Criminal Code or the Press Act.

Citing a wealth of local jurisprudence on the matter, the court said it had been established by other courts that Facebook posts are regulated by the Press Act and not the Criminal Code. The words on the page had been printed and exhibited and there was no doubt that the writing had also been communicated to several persons, held the court.

The court, ruling that the charges should therefore have been made in terms of the Press Act and not the Criminal code, cleared Agius of the charges. “The accused was charged under section 252 of the Criminal Code and therefore this Court has no other option but not to find guilt.”