Updated 1630
Police constables to be indicted: The Court found enough evidence for three constables accused of using excessive force on migrants to be placed under a bill of indictment. The Court declared that racism should not be practiced anywhere, whatever its source. Bail was granted to the three accused. (TVM)
Minister defends under-fire prison director: Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri will not suspend prisons director Robert Brincau after he was charged in court for threatening an ambulance driver with a weapon last August. (Maltatoday)
UHM asks for double pay on Sundays: The Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin (UHM) has launched a set of proposals in preparation for the 2023 Budget, proposing amongst other things that all workers be paid double on Sundays. (Newsbook)
Updated 1300
EP adopts strong resolution calling out impunity in Malta: The European Parliament has formally adopted a resolution “expressing concern about the impunity afforded to key figures in the former prime minister’s administration, including the former prime minister himself, his chief of staff, and the former minister for tourism, formerly the minister for energy,” referring to Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri, and Konrad Mizzi. The Socialist Group, of which the Maltese Labour MEPs form part, also supported the resolution.
Half of young people think substances will not affect work performance: More than half of young people (16-25) believe that taking substances on the weekend will not affect their performance at work. This trend emerged in a survey carried out by government agency FSWS. On the contrary, 91% think that doing so during work was very risky.
Degiorgios 40-year sentence not enough – CoE: The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Dunja Mijatovic, said that the 40-year sentence handed to the hitmen of Daphne Caruana Galizia is not enough. Speaking in Strasbourg at a media freedom seminar, Mijatovic said that seeking justice should not be the responsibility of the journalist’s family but that of the State and its institutions.
Poverty NGO expresses concern on cost of living: The Anti-Poverty Forum expressed its concern about the sharp increase in the cost of living, including drastic increases in the basics necessities which include basic food items and medication. This hike in costs has highly reduced people’s purchasing power, increasing poverty. It noted how COLA was based on past inflation and does not compensate for the present increases. The Forum also called for the provision of adequate medications and continued energy subsidies.
Morning Briefing
Malta accused of violating international law with new pushbacks
Malta has been accused of violating maritime and international law by instructing a merchant ship to take 23 asylum seekers to Egypt rather than to closer ports in Europe. In a statement, NGOs Alarm Phone, Mediterranea Saving Humans, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Sea-Watch called out Malta’s disregard of international law and demanded “an end to these serious human rights violations in the central Mediterranean.” They added that “as organisations engaging in SAR activities at sea, we denounce the forcible transfer of these 23 people to Egypt and call for consequences to Malta’s blatant violations of maritime and international law.” (Newsbook)
Head of prison pointed gun at ambulance driver’s head, Court hears
The head of the Corradino Correctional Facility Robert Brincau pointed a gun at an ambulance driver’s head and was recorded threatening him: “I’ll kill you and your family”, a court was told. He is facing, and denies, a range of offences including injuring the man and carrying a gun without a licence at Għadira Bay in August.
Volunteer ambulance driver Liam Doublet described to the court how he “turned cold” when the 49-year-old prison boss whipped out a firearm and pointed it at his head during a heated argument. The man works as a driver with a private company which provided emergency medical services at the beach. The firearm was registered to the CCF but not to Brincau himself. (Times of Malta)
Enough evidence to issue indictment over Theuma fake job
The Court has decided that there was sufficient evidence to issue indictment over Melvin Theuma fake job. A decree will be issued against Yorgen Fenech, Keith Schembri, Sandro Craus, former private secretary in the family ministry Anthony Ellul and former Housing Maintenance and Embellishment Co Ltd CEO Anthony Muscat. The five men are being accused of putting Melvin Theuma on the government’s payroll through a fake job which he never turned up for, just months after Theuma had helped arrange the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. (Maltatoday)
