I was very much delighted, when one morning I read in the newspaper that Mr Anthony Mifsud had been awarded €186,439 by the courts, 26 years after being beaten, tortured and framed by three senior police officers, and thrown into a prison cell innocently.
But I was disgusted when I read that the case took 26 long years to be concluded. Why? Was there a need for the court to take all these years to conclude? Is it not appropriate for the Justice Minister to ask some questions? It is true that there are quite a number of cases pending conclusion, but it is also true that there are quite a number of Judges and Magistrates. In my opinion it is the system which is not working.
However, my joy did not last for too long, when the next day on Xarabank I heard Mifsud’s lawyer, and if I understood correctly, say that these well known culprits’ actions are time-barred, and they cannot now be called to answer for their criminal actions. A very nice model of justice. Where were our Ministers of Justice and Attorney Generals since 1987? Is this the reason for cases take so long? So then we say: Ah, now it is time-barred?
I suppose that the taxpayer is going to pay that pecuniary award, too. How many thousands, if not millions, of euros have the Maltese people paid for criminal acts committed by the police force in that terrible period? People who were murdered, shot at, beaten, imprisoned, gassed, kicked, and then called upon to compensate the victim, while the aggressors were promoted before being asked to resign with a good pension, while others kept in the force to reach higher grades.
One does not need to go deep in history books. It is enough to read today’s newspapers, when you learn that one of these criminals, who rendered Anthony Mifsud a broken man with beatings, is now the head of security at Mater Dei. Alright, it is not a government post, but still paid by Maltese taxes. What does the Hon. Minister have to say?
I’d like to finish this letter by telling the new Labour leader Dr Joseph Muscat, with the greatest respect, that nothing is going to erase of what I saw and heard in those days.

Joseph Muscat
Mosta

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