BA defends RTK103 fine, says law protects 'political views'

The Broadcasting Authority has defended its decision to fine RTK103 €4,660, but stated that it did not do so because of the station's refusal to invite far-right Imperium Europa candidates on Andrew Azzopardi's radio programme.

Instead, the BA clarified that it is bound to follow the law, and that "the law speaks about views not candidates." This means that the BA did not fine RTK for its refusal to invite far-right candidates, but that it issued the fine because the station didn't give space to anyone with far-right views.

The BA also responded to news reports stating that it refused a request to remove its board secretary Adriano Spiteri (who was Imperium Europa's general secretary) from participating in this case. 

The BA stated that as board secretary, Spiteri has no role in the authority's decisions. 

On Thursday, parliamentary secretary for equality Rebecca Buttigieg had appealed against giving a platform to “dangerous, populous scaremongering.”

This is the second fine handed to the radio station, after it was fined €6,410 after host Andrew Azzopardi had said on air that he would not allow Lowell to express his views on his programme.

RTK103 is operated by the Beacon Media Group, which also operates Newsbook.com.mt. As it – and the newsroom – had done last January, it highlighted Lowell’s history of problematic statements, which saw him receive a suspended jail term for fomenting racial hatred.