A hunter found guilty of inciting violence against Birdlife Malta by commenting on Facebook that “this scum” deserved “a beating,” had his conviction confirmed on appeal but was spared a €3,000 fine. 

The alleged hate speech was flagged to the police cybercrime unit in April 2022 through an email sent by Birdlife Malta's CEO.

Mark Sultana drew the police's attention to a comment by Stephen Micallef under a Facebook post published by Minister Clint Camilleri. The minister was commenting about Birdlife’s bid to stop hunting for turtle doves in spring.

The environmental organisation had filed a court application for a warrant of prohibitory injunction to that effect and the civil court had provisionally upheld Birdlife’s request whilst appointing the case for hearing. 

Minister Camilleri, responsible for the hunting portfolio, announced that court decision, saying the government had directed the State Advocate to request the court to “urgently” appoint the case for hearing.

Among the many comments by supporters of the hunting lobby, one comment read that although there were “so many cowboys” no one had “given these people a good beating". 

It was “now just too much”, and “they were asking for it”, went on the comment.

“They say that hunters are stupid... how much longer should [we] put up with these scum?” 

Screenshots of that comment were sent to the police who pushed on with investigations even after Sultana said that he did not wish to proceed since he could no longer find the links to that post. 

The author of that comment was tracked down and questioned by the police.

He admitted that the comment was written by him but denied that it was aimed at Birdlife Malta. 

Micallef insisted, even when later testifying in court, that his comment was directed against those hunters who acted in breach of hunting laws, thus placing law-abiding fellow hunters in a bad light. 

Some days before posting that comment, a protected species was shot down and such acts harmed all hunters, Micallef sought to explain. 

But neither the First Court nor the Court of Criminal Appeal deemed that argument credible.

When delivering judgment upon appeal Madam Justice Natasha Galea Sciberras stated that the court firmly believed that Micallef’s comment was actually directed against Birdlife Malta.

Taken within the context of the minister’s post, there was no doubt that Micallef’s comment was meant to convey a message that could harm or insult Birdlife’s representatives. 

In fact, its CEO felt the need to file a police report.

When subsequently testifying in the proceedings, Sultana explained that the comment was “worrying” in case it instigated someone “to lose common sense”.

Micallef’s words were not simply insulting or defamatory but incited violence, observed the court.

In a tense climate where hunters were at loggerheads with Birdlife Malta over the spring hunting issue, Micallef’s words breached the criminal code and electronic communications regulations. 

While confirming the conviction, the court said that in this case, the defendant was to be punished only for the more serious offence which was punishable with a term of imprisonment. 

Thus while confirming the six-month jail term suspended for three years, the court partially upheld the appeal by cancelling the €3,000 fine.