Updated 12pm with Joseph Muscat's comment

A court judgment annulling a "fraudulent" privatisation deal for the running of three hospitals is not enough, and those responsible for crafting the deal must be held criminally and politically responsible, Repubblika president Robert Aquilina said on Wednesday.

He was speaking outside the offices of former prime minister Joseph Muscat, where activists unfurled a giant red banner reading “Korruzzjoni”. Aquilina also stuck a sign to the door of the office that reads “Joseph Muscat Prim Korrott”.

While hailing Friday’s judgment for stating “black on white” that the hospitals' deal is corrupt, Aquilina said that the “grave and unprecedented” act was “nothing less than criminal action”.

“It is unacceptable that no one has been forced to take neither political nor criminal responsibility for this abuse,” he said.

“The four contracts were not negotiated by ghosts but were signed away by the government, carelessly spending money that belongs to the people.

“And to the politicians involved we say: don’t tell us you weren’t complicit because we don’t believe you.”

Countless journalists, including Daphne Caruana Galizia, had proven time and time again that the hospitals' deal was vitiated and “stank of corruption”.

Detailing Repubblika’s three-year effort to get a magisterial inquiry into the hospitals deal started, with the intention that this will lead to criminal action, Aquilina added that the police commissioner is also abdicating his responsibility in the matter by failing to investigate on his own initiative.

Activists unfurled a giant red banner reading “Korruzzjoni”. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

“People have a right to know where €400 million of their money has gone and they have a right to see corrupt politicians go to jail,” he said.

“The court decision is not enough, those who dirtied their hands with corruption should be taken to court and face justice to the letter of the law.”

Aquilina said that the group would be holding police Commissioner Angelo Gafa personally responsible should his inaction lead to a failure in justice.

“Do not come to us in the future and tell us that these people cannot be arrested because they have fled the country, because we will be holding you responsible for it,” he said.

Aquilina added that while evidence has pointed to former ministers Konrad Mizzi, Chris Cardona and Edward Scicluna, as well as former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri having played a role in the deal, it is inconceivable that this could have been done without Muscat’s knowledge.

“No matter how many excuses and threats he comes up with we know that he is the architect of this corrupt deal,” Aquilina said.“No one believes that Cardona, Scicluna, Mizzi and Schembri acted behind his back. Joseph Muscat is the chief corrupt individual.

“The place for all corrupt politicians is prison. Joseph Muscat belongs in prison.”

Aquilina making himself prosecutor, judge and jury - Muscat 

On Wednesday morning, Muscat reacted to activists showing up outside of his office on Facebook, saying that Aquilina had appointed himself “prosecutor, judge and jury” which, he said, flies in the face of the rule of law “that he speaks so much about”.

Muscat said that Aquilina’s speech implies intimate knowledge of what is happening in the magisterial inquiry, which, he said, “undermines trust in this independent process”.

Aquilina, Muscat added, was ignoring court sentences as well as reports from the Auditor General in his regard.

“As I have always said, I welcome every scrutiny possible because it will only confirm that I have always acted in the country’s best interests.”