Nicholas Azzopardi inquiry | Magistrate’s inquiry was flawed – Labour media

Magistrate Antonio Vella's handling of the inquiry into the allegations by Nicholas Azzopardi, who died from injuries suffered in an alleged beating by police officers while in custody, has come under intense criticism in the Opposition's media.

According to online mouthpiece maltastar.com, the relatives of Nicholas Azzopardi - who are now pursuing justice in a reopened inquiry into the bizarre death of the father-of-one - "feel the magisterial inquiry was a cover-up to exonerate the police."

Maltastar.com has raised questions about the lack of an identification parade for Azzopardi to identify the alleged aggressors when he told Magistrate Vella of his ordeal at the hands of police investigators, when he gave his testimony to Vella while recovering at Mater Dei's intensive therapy unit.

The Labour media is also claiming Vella "worked too closely" with Assistant Commissioner Michael Cassar, who was then tasked with holding an internal inquiry into the actions of the police when Nicholas Azzopardi was in their custody.

Commissioner of Police John Rizzo was at the time of the incident recovering in hospital for medical treatment.

"The version of the police officers implicated in the case was accepted uncritically, while Azzopardi and his family were treated with hostility."

"Vella did not give due weight to what Azzopardi had to say just before he died when usually such statements ('articolo mortis') are considered indispensable to establish what happened."

Azzopardi was found beneath the bastions of the Floriana police headquarters, suffering from injuries he said were incurred in a violent beating by his police guardians. A magisterial inquiry by Antonio Vella could find no conclusive evidence that he had been left for dead by his aggressors, who alleged Azzopardi jumped off the bastion when he escaped from custody.

The inquiry has been re-opened by Commissioner John Rizzo after it transpired that Azzopardi's interrogator - former police sergeant Adrian Lia - was charged with the theft of €30,000 in seized gambling cash.

But the new inquiry is also being led by Magistrate Antonio Vella, an aspect that has been criticised by Nicholas Azzopardi's father, Joseph, who says the new inquiry should be independent.

Joseph Azzopardi, 70, claims a confidential source with information on his son's death is reluctant to come forward with information due to the lack of a Whistleblower's Act. "This person is afraid of losing their job and is afraid of what could happen to their family," Azzopardi, had told MaltaToday.

"During the original inquiry magistrate Antonio Vella and assistant police commissioner Michael Cassar didn't record Nicholas during the interrogation. They had instead insisted that our family handed over the footage we had of Nicholas explaining what happened to him."

Azzopardi believes his son may have been taunted by police sergeant Adrian Lia, over his relationship with Nicholas's estranged wife, to the point that he may have reacted physically against his interrogators.

It also transpires Nicholas Azzopardi had been brought in for questioning after his wife filed a police report, alleging he had abused their daughter, just days a court awarded Nicholas Azzopardi extended custody of their child.

After he was found unconscious beneath the police depot's bastions, Nicholas Azzopardi later was recorded on a home video on his hospital bed, claiming he had been brutally 'beaten to a pulp' by two policemen while in custody.