A magisterial inquiry has been launched after a magistrate received an anonymous threatening letter, warning that her career and personal life were at stake.
Magistrate Nadine Lia received the threat on Tuesday, sparking an immediate inquiry.
It is not clear whether the letter was received in court or at home.
The magistrate is at the centre of controversy following her repeated refusal to recuse herself from hearing a case filed by Repubblika against the police commissioner and the attorney general, who the NGO says failed to press charges against various Pilatus officials despite an inquiry recommending that more than a year ago.
Earlier this week, Repubblika pushed its battle up to the highest court with a constitutional case and said it was considering exploring avenues for justice in international fora if need be.
Repubblika has argued that Lia is unfit to hear that case because of her ties to lawyer Pawlu Lia, her father-in-law.
Pawlu Lia served as a lawyer for former minister Konrad Mizzi, former prime minister Joseph Muscat and his wife Michelle and Keith Schembri, Muscat's chief of staff.
The NGO said all are linked to the Pilatus case and Egrant or have ties with foreign investors who were involved in questionable deals with Muscat's government and held accounts in Pilatus bank.
Pawlu Lia was also the person who wrote the terms of reference for the Egrant inquiry in 2017, making sure it would never find who owns Egrant, Aquilina said.
However, he pointed out that the Pilatus inquiry deemed it necessary for the Egrant inquiry to be reopened.
Magistrate Lia dismissed Repubblika’s recusal requests on the basis that her father-in-law has never represented the five Pilatus officials that the case is about.
Moreover, Nadine Lia had spoken in favour of Joseph Muscat and his administration at a Labour political event in 2017, just two weeks after Daphne Caruana Galizia linked Egrant to Michelle Muscat, the NGO said.
She was still a lawyer then, although already married to Pawlu Lia's son, and Repubblika quoted her saying: "A mistake? Does it happen? Yes. So what? Does it matter?"
In the anonymous letter addressed to Magistrate Lia, she was told that she should have recused herself from hearing the case.
In a statement on Wednesday, Repubblika condemned the threatening letter received by the magistrate. It said that it openly criticised the magistrate but criticism should never reach the level it had reached with an anonymous letter threatening her.
It added that the disagreement should be expressed in a civil manner and within the limits of the law and urged the authorities to investigate the matter.
Even Justice Minister Jonathan Attard condemned the cowardly act, expressing his solidarity with the threatened magistrate.
“No threats can ever be tolerated. As Minister for Justice, I condemn any threats that may be intended to prevent members of the judiciary from carrying out their work in serenity. Anyone who believes in the rule of law should respect the judicial processes and allows them to take place in the courts according to the laws of the country. This is respect for the institutions,” he wrote in a post on Facebook.