Police reports from nearly half a century ago about a man accused of the attempted murder of former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff should not be presented in court as they are deemed 'privileged' documents, the court heard on Friday.
On October 15, 1979, Karmenu Grima, a known loyal supporter and personal friend of Mintoff, headed to the Office of the Prime Ninister to speak to him about “sensitive information” about one of Mintoff’s top ministers, Lorry Sant.
His visit ended with gunfire, with Grima being struck by three shots and requiring 40 stitches after being hit on the head with a hard object. No one else suffered gunshot wounds and Mintoff was in another room at the time.
Forty-five years later, Grima’s heirs are suing the government, claiming that their father was a 'sacrificial lamb' in a political frame-up and was unjustly accused of attempting to assassinate Mintoff.
Testifying before Judge Mark Simiana during the first sitting of the historic case, police superintendent Jurgen Vella was asked to present investigation reports regarding the October 1979 incident.
The documents included police charges on Grima, proces verbal report and a statement from when the assistant police commissioner of the time visited Grima at Mount Carmel.
Lawyers Julian Farrugia and Maurizio Cordina representing the State Advocate argued the documents should not be presented to court as they are “privileged” police documents.
Judge Simiana replied that the reports were not internal police documents.
Lawyer Peter Fenech, representing the family, argued that in previous cases, such as the murder of Lino Cauchi, police documents were provided to support investigations.
“This happened over 45 years ago, and you come here and tell me the documents are privileged,” Fenech said.
“Don’t forget, this is regarding a frame-up, how can the police say they will not provide these documents?”
The court gave a timeframe of three weeks before a decision was made on whether the police documents would be presented to the court or not.
Other vital documents ‘missing’
During the sitting, court representatives were summoned to present documents from a 2004 civil case relating to Grima. Another representative was asked to present the two magisterial inquiries into the alleged incident.
Both representatives said the documents could not be located.
The court ordered the registrar to conduct a more in-depth investigation to locate the file and report back at the next sitting, explaining what was found in the box file where these court records should have been stored.
A representative of Mount Carmel Hospital also attended Friday’s sitting and was to present medical records of Grima, where he spent nine years before being discharged in 1989.
The representative said that, according to a policy, the hospital retains medical records for 10 years following a person’s death, and after that, the documents are destroyed.
Grima died in 1995.
“The file no longer exists,” the representative explained.
Representatives from the Department of Information provided eight statements involving Grima and the incident, while representatives of media house presented copies of articles involving the incident. A representative of the Attorney General failed to turn up.
Grima was unarmed – journalist
Medialink communications journalist, Dione Borg, also testified on Friday. Borg had carried out in-depth investigations into various unsolved murders and crimes, including Grima’s case.
While Borg was not a journalist during the time of the incident, he spoke to family members and sources to understand the lead-up to the incident and the aftermath. He told the court he never spoke to Grima directly and that no other journalists at the time managed to do so, either.
He said Grima either went to speak to Mintoff regarding personal issues or else regarding information he had on minister Lorry Sant.
"According to my sources, Grima was unarmed and unaware of the Prime Minister's whereabouts, as he did not know the layout of Castille,” Borg said.
Borg said he was aware that the inquiries into Grima’s incident were “kept in the vaults of Castille” and allegedly are no longer there.
Lawyers Peter Fenech, Elena Fenech and Matthew Camilleri are assisting the family.
Julian Farrugia and Maurizio Cordina represented the State Advocate.
The case continues on 13 March.
What happened on October 15 1979?
Grima knew Mintoff personally and the two met regularly at the Marsa stables, where the then-prime minister kept his horses. One day, Grima told Mintoff he had some “sensitive information” about another minister, and on October 15, he headed to the prime minister's office with a letter containing information on Minister Lorry Sant.
While he entered Castille, some OPM staff refused to allow him into Mintoff’s office. What happened from that moment on is a matter of dispute.
Grima's heirs say he waited patiently, letter in hand, to give it to Mintoff himself, and was ultimately attacked and shot at by people who wanted to stop him from getting to the prime minister.
A press statement issued by the Department of Information said a man had barged into Castille at around 1pm, armed with a revolver, demanding to see the prime minister. The DOI statement continued to say the man had fired shots at Mintoff’s chief messenger.
Grima was taken to hospital after being shot three times. He also needed 40 stitches in his head. He was kept isolated from everyone, including his family.
Word of the alleged attempt on Mintoff's life spread quickly and inflamed Labour supporters, who gathered outside the office of the prime minister.
From there, thugs ransacked Strickland House, the then-home of Times of Malta, and set it on fire. They then barged into the home of Opposition leader Eddie Fenech Adami, attacking his wife and children.
The day, a notorious one in Malta's political history, became known as 'Black Monday'.
While in hospital recovering, somebody sought to assassinate Grima. That attempt failed because the assailant targeted the wrong man - a patient in a bed next to Grima's who turned out to be the brother of former agriculture minister Freddie Micallef.
Grima was later transferred to prison and subsequently to Mount Carmel Hospital “for his own safety”.
He was charged in court with attempted murder, and later he was declared “of unsound mind” and sent to Mount Carmel where he spent nine years. He was discharged in 1989 after the PN took over the government. He died in 1995.
His heirs claim that the attempted murder charges were trumped-up ones by individuals seeking to prevent him from reaching Mintoff.