An inquiry headed by Judge Albert Manche' has questioned how the police took months to investigate Cyrus Engerer over alleged computer misuse and distribution of pornography but then filed charges just 10 days after Engerer, the Deputy Mayor of Sliema, switched from the PN to the PL.

The report found that the police did not appear to have acted irregularly, but it questioned how charges were not filed earlier, on the basis of the information held by the police.

The fact that the charges were filed 10 days after Mr Engerer resigned from the PN meant one could not reasonably exclude a link between the two, the Inquiry found.

Judge Manche' also concluded that the prime minister’s Chief of Staff, Edgar Galea Curmi, did not try to influence the police when he phoned the Commissioner  to ask about the arrest of Chris Engerer, Cyrus's father.

Chris Engerer was arrested as part of police Druq Squad investigations.

It had resulted, Judge Manche' said, that Mr Galea Curmi had told the Commissioner that Mr Chris Engerer’s lawyer had said that he expected such police action following Cyrus Engerer’s switch from the PN to the PL. The Commissioner denied that there was political interference, and Mr Galea Curmi asked the Commissioner if he could speak to the lawyer to assure him that the arrest was not politically motivated.

The Commissioner requested a report from his subordinates. He then explained to Mr Galea Curmi the sequence of events leading to Chris Engerer’s arrest, but he decided against speaking to the lawyer because it was not the role of the police to give explanations to defence counsel.

Judge Manche' said he agreed with the Commissioner’s decision, because the duty of the police was to present its case and evidence in Court and not to lawyers.

Furthermore, when there were allegations of abuse of power by the police, these too needed to be investigated.

POLICE ACTION AGAINST CYRUS ENGERER

With regard to the police action taken against Cyrus Engerer and charges presented in court, which were reported by The Times, Judge Manche' observed that on January 10, 2010, Marvic Camilleri, Cyrus Engerer’s former partner, alleged to the police that he suspected that Engerer had stolen compromising pictures from his computer and was distributing them to various people, including his employer.

The Cyber Crime Unit concluded its investigation on March 7, 2010, having established how the pictures were transmitted from Mr Engerer’s former residence. The police could not immediately question Engerer because he was abroad. Mr Camilleri eventually told the police that he had lost interest in the case, but never formally withdrew his complaint.

The police questioned Cyrus Engerer on June 23, 2011. On July 9, Cyrus Engerer during the Gay Pride parade told an inspector to expedite his case. On July 15 Mr Engerer resigned from the PN and subsequently joined the PL.

On July 25 the police filed charges against Mr Engerer in court. The charges included computer misuse and the distribution of pornography.

The Times reported the charges on the following day.

Judge Manche said that on completion of their investigations in March, the police could have instituted court proceedings against Mr Engerer. It was true that Mr Camilleri had lost interest and had wanted to withdraw his police report. It was also true that the police had tried to contact Mr Engerer before June 23, but could not do so because he was abroad. But the Inquiry was not convinced that the police showed any particular eagerness to try to contact Mr Engerer, especially when means of communications were very easy these days.

After considerable delay, the charges were filed 10 days after Engerer resigned from the PN and joined the PL.

"Inevitably, one has to conclude that the police dragged their feet before July 15, 2011 and hurried in their proceedings against Cyrus Engerer afterwards, and that Cyrus Engerer's resignation was the reason why the police hurried in their filing of the charges after so much delay."

The police had denied any connection between the resignation and the filing of charges, Judge Manche' said.

The early stages of the case clearly had no connection with Mr Engerer's resignation, because the case started 18 months before. According to the police, the delays in going to court stemmed from Mr Camilleri's loss of interest and the fact that Engerer was abroad.

"Still, it is the Board's view that the delay in the filing of the charges was not justified. Nor can it be reasonably excluded that the filing of the charges, only 10 days after the resignation from the PN, was linked to the resignation.

"On the other hand, there is no evidence of irregularity, since it has resulted that the police had sufficient basis to proceed against Cyrus Engerer and it cannot be said that the police acted wrongly when the charges were filed,"  Judge Manche' said. 

One can have basis to suspect that the filing of charges, 10 days after Mr Engerer crossed from the PN to the PL, was not a simple coincidence

However, there was no evidence of any interference for the case not to proceed, or otherwise.

One could have basis to suspect that the filing of charges, 10 days after Mr Engerer crossed from the PN to the PL, was not a simple coincidence, Judge Manche' said.

Judge Manche said the inquiry could not establish who had leaked the charges to The Times, and the law protected journalists from revealing their sources. It could not be established if the information was given to the journalist before or after the charges were filed in court.

The journalist had not disobeyed any court order. Nor did it appear that the publication of the report was unjustified, especially since it was a basic principle in democratic society that freedom of information came before any attempts to keep court proceedings secret, more so when the person involved was a politician.

See inquiry report in full by clicking pdf below.