The Easter Massacre Inquiry (11): The magistrate’s conclusions

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2020-06-01T18:47:45+02:00Mon, 1st Jun '20, 23:30|

After 353 pages of poetry, academic texts, high school civics and near irrelevancies, the magistrate finds space for immaterial considerations in his conclusions as well. In what would have made a mediocre undergraduate dissertation, Magistrate Joe Mifsud dedicates 37 pages to discuss Malta’s policies on coronavirus, migration trends in Africa, illegal smuggling and human trafficking, [...]

The Easter Massacre Inquiry (10): Missing evidence

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2020-06-02T07:17:44+02:00Mon, 1st Jun '20, 23:00|

Murder investigations rarely have eye-witnesses. In investigative terms those are the easy ones. Most people commit a crime – a pre-meditated, pre-planned crime – with an effort to cover their tracks. They make sure nobody sees them. They make sure they’re not caught. The tough job is proving a crime when no one saw it [...]

The Easter Massacre Inquiry (9): Neville the devil

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2020-06-02T05:58:22+02:00Mon, 1st Jun '20, 22:30|

In the midst of all the recriminations and accusations during that horrible Easter week, Neville Gafà, the bald hangover from Keith Schembri’s glory days, spoke up and confirmed to anyone speaking to him that he was asked by Robert Abela to coordinate an illegal pushback to Libya. The prime minister told the inquiry that Neville [...]

The Easter Massacre Inquiry (6): Gilead’s eyes

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2020-06-01T18:29:16+02:00Mon, 1st Jun '20, 21:00|

Magistrate Joe Mifsud’s report criticises Repubblika for not having verified directly itself the contents of the report it was making: “It turns out therefore that before filing their report with the Police Commissioner Repubblika had not asked the Army, the Prime Minister or the Army Commander for clarifications. Nor did they verify the claims made [...]

The Easter Massacre Inquiry (4): Not that Concetta

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2020-06-01T18:13:58+02:00Mon, 1st Jun '20, 20:00|

I will not bore you with the details because if you’re inclined to be interested you’re not reading these blog posts but the magistrate’s report directly. Lawyers for Repubblika referred in their complaint to a court decision that included a definition of ‘duty of care’ that they felt helped them explain to the police what [...]

The Easter Massacre Inquiry (3): Safe harbour

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2020-06-01T20:22:12+02:00Mon, 1st Jun '20, 19:30|

 In the four weeks he gave himself to conduct an inquiry into whether anyone was responsible for the deaths of 12 people at sea, the illegal pushback to Libya of 57 and the illegal push-out from Maltese territorial waters of migrants at sea, Magistrate Joe Mifsud found time for other side investigations. One of them [...]

GUEST POST: Reflections on the Egrant Inquiry (5)

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2020-06-01T19:22:38+02:00Mon, 1st Jun '20, 16:27|

I closed my last article with the conclusions of Magistrate Aaron Bugeja on the testimony of the representatives of ATC Administrators Inc, which the magistrate concluded as being ‘indefinite’. In fact, the magistrate based his conclusion on document he said was dated 8 August 2013. Actually it was dated 9 August. This document was an [...]

GUEST POST: The civil service we need and the one we have.

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2020-06-01T14:38:49+02:00Mon, 1st Jun '20, 14:38|

Filed by someone known to me. The Cummings and goings between London and Durham that have featured so prominently in the media, shed light on one specific issue that is particularly relevant from a Maltese perspective. We have come to be accustomed to the fact that our political leaders appoint persons of trust, but in [...]

Alex Dalli, Count of Ras Ħanżir

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2020-06-02T11:56:10+02:00Mon, 1st Jun '20, 13:47|

I commented a few weeks ago about the sight of the director of our prisons designing a dress uniform himself complete with a sword. Alex Dalli harbours some really serious delusions. There’s a classic French comedy from 1993 called Les Visiteurs about a 12th century crusader and his squire who find themselves in the 1990s [...]

King Robert is magnanimous

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2020-06-01T07:14:16+02:00Mon, 1st Jun '20, 07:14|

Robert Abela’s inexperience, insecurity and slavish populism came through most clearly yesterday. The inexperience is seen in the fact that he still thinks he governs for those who complain to him. The stories he told yesterday about someone fined because they were too close to the vegetable van or because they huddled too close together [...]

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