Updated 4.20pm with PBS chairman reaction

Republikka president Robert Aquilina was called in for police questioning on Tuesday afternoon, days after he was confronted by a security guard outside Public Broadcasting Services headquarters.

Aquilina said he was questioned about the PBS incident but that police officers refused to tell him what was alleged about him, nor who had filed the criminal complaint.

“[The police] refused to give me a copy of the report PBS made and they said that they have yet to decide if they are going to take me to court or not,” Aquilina said.

He also noted how police had been quick to summon him for questioning but had done nothing about PBS chairman Mark Sammut, who was among the various people who contacted Transport Malta’s former director of licensing to expedite peoples’ driving tests.

“It is ironic that after the licence racket published by the Times, the police want to interrogate me,” Aquilina said. “Can you tell me anything more ridiculous than that?” 

Standing outside the Ħamrun police station, the Repubblika presented showed journalists a copy of the document given to him by police following his questioning. While his brief response was included, the rest of the document was illegible as it contained blacked-out, redacted information.

“Third-party details and Police investigations are being blackened due to the Data Protection Act,” the notes read. Police refused to elaborate on who filed the report and what the report contained, Aquilina said. 

According to the notes, Aquilina told officers that he will give his side of the story once he has a copy of the report.   

Asked if police elaborated on the reason behind the questioning beyond the PBS conference, Aquilina and lawyer Therese Comodini Cachia said that no mention of trespassing or other possible legal complaints were named. 

“I consider the report filed by PBS and the police’s decision to summon me for this interrogation as an act of intimidation and as a threat to my fundamental rights of expression and of association,” he said. 

Aquilina was summoned to face police questions four days after he led Repubblika to stage a protest on the doorstep of PBS offices, accusing the public broadcaster of censorship.

As Aquilina spoke, a security guard tried to remove him from the front entrance. Aquilina refused and continued with the conference. 

When contacted by Times of Malta, PBS executive chairman Mark Sammut said he was not there on the day of the incident. He said he did not know who filed the report.

Aquilina calls for resignation of PBS head

Ahead of the questioning, Aquilina called for Sammut's resignation, following his involvement in the recent licence racket. 

On Sunday, Times of Malta revealed how then Transport Minister Ian Borg and customer care officers at the Office of the Prime Minister, among other public officials, handed the names of drive test candidates to Transport Malta licensing director Clint Mansueto. 

Sammut, previously a Transport Malta official, texted Mansueto several candidates' names and ID card numbers across a three-year span, sometimes using an aggressive tone to get his way.

“Before u found solutions for me. Don’t find an issue with this one pls,” Sammut told Mansueto in one such message.