A man who insulted and threatened a magistrate on YouTube apologised in court on Friday, blaming his video outburst on illness. 

Joseph Mary Ebejer, a 54-year old Qormi resident, ended up under police custody shortly after uploading the video in which he slammed magistrate Joseph Mifsud for the way he was handling a case he was involved in.

In the 11-minute clip, Mr Ebejer raged against the magistrate and made a series of allegations about the way in which he was handling criminal proceedings against a Cospicua woman.

The woman stands accused of having hit Mr Ebejer on the head with a high-heeled shoe just outside the main door of the Valletta law courts some months back. 

When proceedings continued earlier this week, Mr Ebejer was unhappy with the way the case was being handled by the magistrate and vented his frustrations in a public video posted to YouTube.

The man was arrested on Thursday and marched to court on Friday where he pleaded guilty to insulting and threatening the magistrate because of the exercise of his functions as a member of the judiciary, and misusing electronic equipment.

The magistrate just wanted to be allowed to work in peace, explained parte civile lawyer Alfred Abela. A suspended sentence, protection order, a formal apology by the accused together with the removal of the video would suffice, Dr Abela said. 

The accused formally apologised to Magistrate Mifsud, also represented in court by lawyer Lennox Vella.

Mr Ebejer said he suffers from fibromyalgia and that the illness sometimes caused him to behave uncontrollably. 

“I wish him [the Magistrate] well,” said the accused, who, at the start of the hearing had requested a glass of sugary water after complaining of “mental fog possibly caused by fibromyalgia or low blood sugar.”

The parte civile lawyers accepted the public apology.

After hearing submissions by both parties the court, presided over by magistrate Josette Demicoli, declared the man guilty upon his own admission and condemned him to a two-year jail term suspended for four years and a €700 fine.

The court also issued a three-year protection order in favour of the Magistrate whilst ordering the accused to remove the offensive video by 5:00pm today. 

Lawyer Benjamin Valenzia was legal aid counsel.