A comedian facing criminal charges for allegedly insulting River of Love pastor Gordon Manché is facing an additional and yet unknown charge to his case, his lawyers said on Friday. 

Daniel Xuereb landed in hot water in June after posting a comedy sketch on social media in which he made jokes about Manché and called him “Malta’s biggest asshole”. 

He subsequently received a court summons that said he was being criminally charged with insulting Manché and misusing electronic equipment to threaten him, in relation to the sketch being shared online. 

Lawyers Michael Camilleri and Cedric Mifsud, who are representing Xuereb through the Public Interest Litigation Network, said that during a sitting for the case on Friday, the prosecution said they were going to be adding a third charge against Xuereb. The unknown third charge was not revealed in court and the case was deferred to March 1. 

His legal team expressed disappointment that, despite the government introducing a law intended to protect artists’ freedom of expression, the prosecution had decided to increase charges against Xuereb rather than dropping them. 

“The PILN is of the belief that the prosecution’s decision to add a charge against Xuereb, and the comedian’s criminal prosecution in the first place, has a chilling effect and is a threat to the right to freedom of expression,” they said in the statement. 

Xuereb is not the only person who has been targeted by legal action following police reports filed by Manché. 

Satirist Matthew Bonanno was charged in January over a Facebook comment in which he jokingly implied that the evangelical group should be carpet bombed. Teatru Malta’s Sean Buhagiar was also questioned by the police for similarly calling Manché an “asshole” while defending Xuereb in a Facebook post. 

In response to the outrage and sympathy the cases generated, the government announced legislative changes that would allow artists greater freedom to use insults or threats as part of their work, as long as they are not credible or realistic. The new rules, which would protect artists from prosecution in these circumstances, were approved by parliament in July.