PN slams Abela, Camilleri for continuing to defend Alex Dalli

The Nationalist Party has blasted Prime Minister Robert Abela for defending former prison director Alex Dalli despite the former’s racism, intimidation, and human rights violations flagged in a recent Ombudsman report.

On Thursday, Abela was fielding journalists questions when he made it clear that Dalli won’t be sacked from his €100,000 wage job handling migration control efforts.

Abela also hit out at the Ombudsman, saying it is easy to “sit behind a desk, censure in comfort and write reports.”

On Friday, the opposition condemned the Prime Minister’s stance, stating that his government continues to foster a culture of impunity. It argues that in a democratic system, officials found responsible for abuses should not be retained in public positions, let alone assigned new roles with significant salaries.

The PN has also pointed to the political responsibility of minister Byron Camilleri, under whose watch the reported abuses occurred. Despite the findings, Camilleri has continued to defend Dalli. 

Earlier this week, Camilleri told MaltaToday insisted that he had taken action against Dalli back in 2021, when he had removed him from his post and awarded him a high-paying government job just months later.

The opposition had submitted a motion of no confidence in Camilleri, following the Speaker’s rejection of a request for an urgent parliamentary debate on the Ombudsman’s report.

The PN said that institutions should be respected rather than attacked for carrying out their duties. The party continues to call for accountability and insists that both Dalli and Camilleri should face consequences for the abuses.

The statement was signed by home affairs spokesperson, Darren Carabott.