A man who posted a menacing Facebook message against Nationalist MEP Roberta Metsola was conditionally discharged after an apology and a warning by a court on Wednesday.

Josef Farrugia in his post had told the MEP to be careful as she would end up like Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Ms Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb near her home on October 16, 2017.

The Facebook post sparked criminal action against Mr Farrugia, who subsequently apologized on Facebook claiming that it had never been his intention to cause harm to anyone or to incite violence against Roberta Metsola. He later deactivated his account.

In court, he admitted harassment and causing his victim to fear violence.

"While the court understands that everyone is within his rights to express himself, nobody should be made to feel threatened. Nor should anyone give the impression that someone ought to be murdered in the way Daphne Caruana Galizia was," Magistrate Joseph Mifsud declared.

"Daphne Caruana Galizia should have never ended up in this way. She has been missed by her family and (the murder has) left a deep scar on our nation,” the magistrate stressed.

The court conditionally discharged Mr Farrugia for three years, whilst issuing a five-year protection order in favour of the MEP.

Inspector Joseph Xerri prosecuted.

Lawyer Angele Formosa was defence counsel.