Nationalist MP Toni Bezzina has been awarded moral damages after an article published in l-Orizzont on May 30, 2012 was deemed to have been defamatory in his regard.

The judgment was delivered by a court of appeal, presided by Mr Justice Anthony Ellul, which overturned an earlier decision by a magistrate's court.

The latter had declared that the article Ebda Investigazzjoni tal-Pulizija s'issa fuq il-Kaz Toni Bezzina (No police investigation so far in relation to the Toni Bezzina case) was based on facts and amounted to an exercise in freedom of expression.

Toni Bezzina

The parliamentarian had filed libel proceedings against Josef Caruana, editor of the daily, following the publication of a story alleging that he had pressured three government labourers to sign an affidavit denying that they had carried out works at the PN Żurrieq club.

The court of appeal noted that the wording of the article was misleading since it led readers to believe that Mr Bezzina had forced the workmen to lie under oath about having whitewashed the washroom at the Żurrieq club.

The court of appeal noted that the wording of the article was misleading since it led readers to believe that Mr Bezzina had forced the workmen to lie under oath about having whitewashed the washroom at the Żurrieq club.

This was a fact which the writer had failed to prove, the court declared. The article did carry an element of truth when it said that the plaintiff had worded the affidavit wherein the three men declared that they had carried out the works voluntarily and after office hours.

Mr Bezzina had also accompanied the men to a notary's office in Valletta where the affidavits were signed, the court observed.

However, at no point was it proved that Mr Bezzina had pressured the workmen into denying that the works had actually been done. This was a fact which the writer never proved, the court remarked.

For this reason, the court declared that the article was defamatory and intended to tarnish the reputation of the plaintiff who, at the time of publication was about to contest the 2013 general election on the PN ticket and played an active role in local politics.

The court awarded Mr Bezzina €300 as compensation for moral damages suffered and ordered court expenses to be borne by the defendant.