Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi was back in the witness stand during libel proceedings filed against him by Minister Owen Bonnici whom he had called “a liar” and “a criminal” on Facebook.
The comment was posted by Azzopardi on his Facebook page in December 2019, the day after the Opposition had obtained a full copy of the Egrant inquiry report drawn up by then-magistrate Aaron Bugeja.
Bonnici promptly sought recourse before the courts, claiming that the post was defamatory and intended to tarnish his reputation.
The magistrate’s report had revealed the “lie” perpetrated by government, including Bonnici, who “for one year five months” had persisted in saying that the Egrant issue had precipitated an early election in 2017, Azzopardi had claimed when testifying in February.
The MP added to that explanation when testifying again earlier this week in the presence of the Minister.
Quoting from a series of media reports, Azzopardi said that Bonnici had lied to parliament about the commissions actually paid to Henley and Partners, the concessionaires of Malta’s citizenship-for-sale scheme.
His testimony drew a sharp comment by the minister’s lawyer, Pawlu Lia, who declared that he reserved his position in respect of the nature of the documents, namely newspaper reports, presented by the witness in evidence.
However, Magistrate Rachel Montebello, presiding over the case, pointed out that it was for the court to decide what evidence was relevant or not.
Azzopardi told the court that in 2018 Bonnici, who at the time was Justice Minister, had declared that anti-SLAPP amendments could not be introduced under the new Media and Defamation Bill.
The witness then referred to a Times of Malta report citing EU Commissioner for Justice Vera Jourova, which appeared to show otherwise.
Turning to the subject of financial crimes, Azzopardi cited other newspaper reports stating that Bonnici had declared in a 2015 press conference that an Asset Recovery Bureau was to be set up “in the coming days.”
Yet although the relative laws were introduced on paper, many of those legal provisions took years to be put into effect, went on the MP, reading out snippets from the articles presented in court.
As the hearing came to an end, Azzopardi informed the court that at the next sitting he would round off his testimony by focusing on why he had called the minister a “criminal.”
The case continues in July.
Lawyer Joseph Zammit Maempel assisted Azzopardi.