Two individuals have defended comments made on Facebook about Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar, insisting that they were fair comment and not defamatory.
Facebook posts cited by Ms Cutajar in her two libel suits allegedly liken her to a “prostitute” and “call girl.”
Watch: “You have no right to call me a whore” – Labour MP
However, in their replies filed on Tuesday in the Magistrates’ Courts, Godfrey Leone Ganado and Rachel Antoinette Williams rebutted the allegations, stating that the posts were not defamatory and at most amounted to ‘fair comment’ when taken “in the context of the applicant’s behaviour with particular reference to previous publications about her and/or by her and /or with her consent.”
One of the suits revolved around a post which read “However, HAMALLI, prostitutes and call girls, have a right to be represented in Parliament,” a statement in respect of which Mr Leone Ganado pronounced himself “perplexed” as to how this could be considered as defamatory.
The emphasis lay upon the term ‘HAMALLI’ which could be considered as negative but certainly not defamatory, the respondent argued.
In the second reply, filed jointly by Mr Leone Ganado and Ms Williams, it was argued that Ms Williams, upon whose Facebook wall the allegedly defamatory comments had been posted, was non-suited since she had posted no comments, defamatory or otherwise, and had not signalled her agreement or otherwise.
Moreover, the term ‘prostitute’, while bearing negative connotations was certainly not defamatory and “did not in any way attribute the status of prostitute to the applicant,” the respondents argued, pointing out that the comment had read “In Maltese we say PROSTITUTE.”(Bil-Malti nghidu QAHBA)
Had the intention been to liken the applicant to a prostitute, the comment would have read “In Maltese we call her PROSTITUTE.” (Bil-Malti NGHIDULA qahba)
As for the applicant’s request to have the posts deleted, the respondents reserved their position in the light of the constitutionality of such claim, besides the “impossibility thereof within the existing technological environment”.
Lawyer Andrew Borg Cardona signed the replies.