Two Transport Malta enforcement officers have been charged with a raft of crimes in connection with the assault of a man lying on the ground last October.
Ivan Cassar, 42, from Zabbar and René Antonelli, 38, from Qrendi, pleaded not guilty to crimes ranging from illegal arrest to assault and subjecting a man to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment when they were charged in court on Wednesday.
The two men were identified by Transport Malta as the officers featuring in a video showing TM officials beating a man on a Marsa street. The violent episode allegedly took place on October 26 in Qormi Road, Marsa between 9pm and 10pm.
In a lengthy court hearing on Wednesday, the court heard from the victim of that beating, who led the officers on a chase from Rabat to Marsa, his sister-in-law who witnessed the beating and the bystander who filmed it from his roof and saw no sign of the man resisting arrest.
Eyewitness recalls shooting video
The Marsa resident who shot the video testified in court on Wednesday, recalling how he was on his roof, testing out his new mobile phone, when he heard a siren.
That was when he saw a man, wearing a red top and dark trousers, lying face down on the ground as two helmeted TM officials in uniform approached.
“He did not resist at any time. He obeyed the person in the helmet,” recalled Justin Aquilina, whose voice was heard in the video exclaiming, “ara xi jtiħ!” (Look how he’s beating him!) when the footage was played out in court.
At first Aquilina had kept the footage, but some three weeks later he had sent it to Lovin Malta.
“I didn’t publish the footage at first, but my conscience wouldn’t let me keep it hidden,” explained the witness.
Asked by the court whether the man being beaten had done something, the witness replied,
“Nothing…As soon as the second person arrived on the motorcycle, he ran up and started hitting him. No words were exchanged.”
Asked by parte civile lawyer Yanika Zammit Tabona whether he could identify the officers, the witness replied that they had been wearing helmets at the time.
Asked by defence lawyer Ishmael Psaila about the driver’s position when he first looked down onto the street, the witness explained that he had seen the driver getting out of his car.
Driver testifies
That driver was Anoob George Thomas, an Indian national working in Malta as a healthcare worker and living in Marsa, who also took the witness stand on Wednesday.
He said that that night he stepped out of his car, his hands up, and then turned to the TM officer, whom he identified as Cassar, asking him, “what is the next procedure?”The officer had ordered him to lie down.
That was when someone came from behind and started to beat him, the alleged victim explained, indicating Antonelli as the one who allegedly had inflicted the beating.
“He was sitting on my back, pressing with something heavy…. he hit me on my shoulder, head, leg and kicked me in the ribs.”
Both officers had beat him with their hands and some other object. Then one of them had removed his helmet, went on the witness, pointing out that it was Cassar.
Thomas said the beating had left him suffering with pain in the ribs for some time, though he only got himself examined by a doctor after the police approached him for his statement.
He said that his primary concern was not the incident itself, but the safety of his sister-in-law.
Thomas said that he had been overspeeding at the time when he was spotted by the TM officers in Rabat as he was rushing to her, as she had called for help.
Data from service providers confirmed that he had received a phone call from his sister-in-law on the night of the incident.
Driver charged with dangerous driving
Prosecutors have also charged Thomas with dangerous driving, failing to pull over quickly enough to allow emergency or priority duty vehicles with acoustic or visible warning signs to overtake as well as disobeying lawful orders and obstructing the two TM officers in the performance of their duties.
The sister-in-law also testified on Wednesday, telling the court that she had witnessed the beating as she stood by the roadside.
When shown the video of the incident, she identified her neighbour as the woman heard shouting at one of the TM officers.
Asked whether she could identify the alleged aggressors, the witness pointed at the two accused, stating that she recognized “both.”
The men had hit her brother-in-law on his head, shoulder, back and ribs, also using a helmet, she said. The beating only stopped when two police officers in black uniforms showed up, she said.
Footage of the incident was sent to police via e-mail by Lovin Malta, testified prosecuting Inspector Ian Vella.
It appeared to indicate that it all began when a motorist was apparently stopped by the officers over suspicions of drink driving.
The video showed an officer getting off his motorbike and running towards the motorist, punching him on the head before a second officer soon joined in the violence.
Police began investigating the incident after the video was published online. Transport Malta had immediately suspended the two suspects while internal investigations continued.
Those investigations resulted in criminal charges against the two officials.
What have the two TM officials been charged with?
When criminal proceedings kicked off against them on Wednesday, both pleaded not guilty to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in respect of the alleged victim, maliciously breaching their duties, illegally arresting the victim, failing to inform the police of his arrest, causing the man slight injuries, assaulting him and acting beyond the limits of provocation.
They were also charged with breaching the public peace, disturbing the nighttime rest of residents as well as driving at excessive speed.
Car chase from Rabat to Marsa
The two officers were at the end of their shift that day when they spotted a driver overspeeding in Saqqajja Square in Rabat.
Sensing their presence, the driver sped off.
A chase followed and led officers all the way from Rabat to Marsa, where the officers finally managed to block the driver’s path. That was when the alleged violence ensued.
Police had managed to track down Thomas through the number plate of the alleged victim’s car as seen in the video. When they knocked on his door November 16, 2022, a woman who answered the door had confirmed that the person in the video was him.
Thomas himself turned up at the residence soon after and was questioned about the incident.
Transport Malta had confirmed to the police that Antonelli and Cassar were the two enforcement officers involved. Two other officials seen in the footage were also questioned and had released statements which were exhibited in court.
CCTV footage from the site of the incident was not available, since a security camera in the area was not functioning at the time. However, the police had obtained an unedited version of the footage from Lovin Malta.
The alleged victim had refused help from the police Victim Support Unit.
Inspector Vella also testified that a few days after the incident. the two accused had turned up to give their statement, legally unassisted at the time.
At the end of the sitting the court, presided over by Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, declared that there was sufficient prima facie evidence for the accused to stand trial on indictment.
The case continues next month.
Inspector Ian Vella prosecuted. Lawyer Ishmael Psaila was defence counsel. Lawyer Yanika Zammit Tabona appeared parte civile.