Three “bullies” who illegally detained journalists at the Office of the Prime Minister in 2019 must be kept away from government events in the future, the Institute of Maltese Journalists has said. 

Jody Pisani, Mark Gauci and Emanuel McKay were found guilty on appeal of having illegally detained journalists following a press conference by the prime minister in the early hours of November 29. 

The appeals court ruled after the attorney general appealed an initial verdict that cleared the trio of charges, on the basis that the elements necessary to prove that they had illegally detained journalists had not been proven. 

In its ruling, the appeals court said that by law, nobody has the right to arrest or detain a person unless they have the authority to do so. In this case, the three accused men had at no point explained who they were, why they were detaining the journalists or on what basis they were doing so. 

While the men had at no point acted violently, it was clear that there was a coordinated effort to prevent journalists from exiting the room, the court said. 

At that stage, there was significant tension in and around the Auberge de Castille and the decision to temporarily control the entry or exit of people from the room could have been justified, the court said. But those responsible should have ensured that the act was proportionte, well explained and carried out according to law, by people empowered by the law to do so. This had not happened in this case, the court said.

It therefore overturned the initial verdict, found the three accused guilty and placed them on a six-month probation order. 

In its statement, the IGM said it hoped such ugly scenes would not be repeated in the future and said it expected the government to dissociate itself from the three men, who it described as “bullies”. 

“The Institute once again takes the opportunity to reiterate the importance of utmost respect towards journalists, especially by politicians and their trusted ones,” the IĠM said, saying journalists had to be allowed to do their job in freedom.