A judge has turned down a request by Manuel Delia to reconsider a court ban on comments and declarations concerning Yorgen Fenech and the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

The decision was handed down on Wednesday, one day after the blogger and activist made the request through an application to the Criminal Court. 

Delia had asked the court to treat the case with urgency as the annual anniversary of Caruana Galizia’s October 16, 2017 murder is just weeks ago. 

Delia said that he wanted to make sure that the civil society protests could go ahead as usual in a few weeks’ time. 

The applicant said that he had full respect for the court’s work and never meant to breach any court orders. But the recent ban was “too wide and not necessary in a democracy,” he argued. 

That ban was handed down by Madam Justice Edwina Grima following comments Delia made on a NEWZ.mt video. That video was aired on the same day that the judge had banned similar comments by Caruana Galizia’s lawyer, Jason Azzopardi. 

Azzopardi was ordered to remove those comments from his Facebook profile, while Lovin Malta was ordered to retract part of an interview with Azzopardi featuring the comments. 

All comments and publications outside court hearings related to Yorgen Fenech’s murder case were prohibited, the judge said as she observed there are “people who feel they may breach court orders with impunity”. 

On Wednesday, the judge decreed that Delia’s request to reconsider the ban was rejected.