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News | Wednesday, 03 March 2010 Issue. 153

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Daphne displays deportment as case gets under way

Blogger and gossip columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia yesterday appeared in court charged with defamation of Magistrate Consuelo Scerri-Herrera, in a first sitting characterised by unruly scenes both in and out of court.
Caruana Galizia, 45, pleaded not guilty to charges of having reviled, defamed and harassed Scerri-Herrera in a number of posts that appeared on her blog over the past two months.
Aided by lawyer Robert Montalto, she appeared before Magistrate Tonio Micallef Trigona: whom Caruana Galizia had earlier publicly accused of having a conflict of interest in the same case.
As proceedings got under way, Dr Montalto insisted that Magistrate Scerri-Herrera could not be represented by a private lawyer as she was a public official, and that her defence should be taken up by the Attorney General.
Scerri-Herrera’s lawyer Dr Stephen Tonna Lowell, appearing in parte civile, said this objection was meant only to confuse matters, and argued that nothing in the law precluded public officers from being represented by a private defence counsel, and that even the Attorney General himself sometimes engaged private lawyers for technical cases.
Tonna Lowell added that Scerri-Herrera’s report to the police was made in her capacity as a private citizen.
Montalto also raised an objection that Caruana Galizia could not be accused of the same crime twice, given that she would be facing separate procedures on the same charges next Monday, brought against her by the Nationalist candidate and Siggiewi mayor Robert Musumeci. Dr Tonna Lowell said he will reply on Monday.
Caruana Galizia’s defence team was clearly in objection mode, as earlier it had already objected to the presence of One News journalist Charlon Gouder and One TV chairman Jason Micallef, submitting that they could potentially be called in as witnesses at a later stage of the proceedings.
Gouder and Micallef told the court they had not been notified of this possibility. The court however upheld the request and asked the two men to leave.
The prosecution is being led by police inspector Sandro Camilleri, who asked the Court for a protection order to be issued for Scerri-Herrera because the alleged crime at issue – i.e., harassment on Caruana Galizia’s blog – was continuing.
The case continues on Monday, when Magistrate Micallef Trigona is expected to decide on these objections.

Display of manners
Immediately outside the law courts, Daphne Caruana Galizia and her sisters gave a public demonstration of their deportment and good manners, in a polite exchange of pleasantries with the ONE TV film crew.
Footage aired yesterday evening by Maltastar showed Daphne’s sister, Corinne Vella, repeatedly thrusting her handbag into the camera lens.
Vella very kindly also took the trouble to inform the same ONE TV cameraman that his “armpits were sweaty”.
Caruana Galizia herself then treated journalists to a sample of her impeccable Bidnija breeding: “Do you think that Charlon Gouder went with a prostitute? Do you think that Charlon Gouder went with a prostitute?” she said, in reference to allegations that surfaced before the 2008 elections, and which were repeated with considerable relish on her blog.
Caruana Galizia also accused the ONE cameraman of harassment.
“Do you mind telling him to stop? This is harassment... Excuse me, you cannot do harassment,” she said in a mixture of English and Maltese.
Represented by lawyers Dr Andy Ellul and Dr Vince Micallef, ONE Crew are now expected to file criminal charges of their own against Daphne Caruana Galizia for defamation and public insult.
The farce continues.

 

 


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