Attorney General Peter Grech has defended his decision to appeal a court order removing deputy police commissioner Silvio Valletta as lead investigator on the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder probe back in June 2018.
Replying to questions by Times of Malta, Dr Grech said the initial court decision had not only ordered Mr Valletta’s removal, but also ordered that any act or decision taken in the investigation had to be re-examined by the former deputy commissioner’s substitute.
At the time when the judgment was delivered criminal proceedings had already been instituted in December 2017 against three persons charged with committing the murder.
The judgment of the first court therefore put into doubt all investigative measures already taken in respect of those three persons charged, Dr Grech said.
Given the potential implications of the judgment and the need for legal certainty on the validity of prior investigations the only option was to file an appeal to the Constitutional Court, he said.
In its judgment in October 2018, the Attorney General said the Constitutional Court made it clear that the order to re-examine the investigative measures should be limited to that part of the investigation that was still ongoing and which was focused on the commissioning of the crime.
The Constitutional Court also concluded that there was no violation of article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights and revoked the relative parts of the first court’s judgment accordingly, he said.
“The appeal was certainly called for at least to clarify the issue on the integrity of pending proceedings,” Dr Grech said.
Silvio Valletta's removal from the case was requested by the Caruana Galizia family in view of a conflict of interest, since Mr Valletta is married to then Gozo minister Justyne Caruana, and he also headed the FIAU.
Dr Caruana resigned on Monday after The Sunday Times of Malta revealed that Mr Valletta had gone to London in September 2018 to watch a football match with Yorgen Fenech, the man suspected of masterminding the Caruana Galizia murder.
Mr Valletta in a brief statement on Sunday said he had not known at the time that Mr Fenech was a person of interest, and he withdrew from the case after the judgement of the first court.
The Attorney General has been facing calls for his resignation by the Opposition and civil society organisations over his appeal in the Valletta case and his decision to stop publication of the Egrant inquiry report.