Letters to the editor – December 31, 2025

Attack on the judiciary

Eddy Privitera of Naxxar writes:

Giovanni Bonello’s unwarranted attack on our country’s judiciary must have shocked not only judges and magistrates but all members of the legal profession. 

And all those who read Times of Malta or follow the news media.

What interested me personally though, was that the former member of the European Court of Human Rights, nominated by former Labour prime minister Alfred Sant went as far as to include me in his insensate attack on the judiciary.

Former member of the European Court of Human Rights, Giovanni Bonello. File photo: Times of Malta

In his diatribe against our judges and magistrates – without mentioning anyone by name, thus casting doubts on each one of them – this supposed paragon of human rights, rule of law and freedom of expression found the occasion to try to ridicule my contributions in the letters page of the Times of Malta by defining them as “the Everest of Privitera imbecility and inconsequence”.

Have I been “an imbecile” because I have been reminding readers of Times of Malta about the dark side of the Nationalist Party’s supposed “glorious past” and about the imbecility and inconsequence of statements made by former PN leaders, from Simon Busuttil to the present one, Alex Borg?

My big sin was that I dared remind Bonello of instances when this supposed defender of human rights, freedom of expression and the rule of law had not written a word when a particular magistrate had closed her five-year-long inquiry into the three hospitals case on the same day, and the same hour, that the Electoral Commission opened applications for candidates who intended to contest the European Parliament and local council elections. His silence was deafening.

In his article, Bonello used despicable terms to define Malta’s members of the judiciary, such as dwarfs in judges’ robe, “accomplices in the creation of impunity in the country”, “marshmallows” and “castrated”. 

And he had no qualms of conscience when also accusing them of “sweeping the floor with freedom of expression” and that “all they have in mind is to protect the powerful”, an obvious reference to former and present Labour leaders, ministers etc...

Bonello’s insensate articles on Malta’s judiciary puts into question whether he is truly the paragon of human rights, freedom of expression and the rule of law many believe he is. 

Or was his outburst conditioned by watching the three hospitals case collapsing with each court hearing, thanks to a bungled inquiry and the vanishing lead forensic expert on whose report the magistrate had based her conclusions?