Three remanded in custody, charged with hate messages about injured policeman
Magistrate Joe Mifsud remanded in custody two men and a woman who expressed satisfaction on Facebook at the news that a police officer had been run over.
The trio were commenting on news articles about Police Constable Simon Schembri, who was left fighting for his life and lost a limb after an underage motorist deliberately ran him over on Tuesday morning.
Inspectors Joseph Busuttil and John Spiteri charged the three with publicly inciting persons to commit a crime and with misuse of electronic communications equipment.
Kylie Cutajar, 21, from St Venera, Ritmark Borg, 28, from Paola, and Josef D’Amato, 24, from Marsa, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Busuttil objected to bail due to fear of evidence being tampered with. Facebook could be accessed from anywhere and the messages could be deleted, he said.
Inspector John Spiteri said that the accused had not co-operated with the investigation. “When we reach the point where the police are spoken of in such a way, it isn’t ideal. We have people who hide behind a screen to incite others.”
Lawyer Mark Refalo, appearing for Cutajar and Borg, argued that the comment was intended to ridicule, not incite violence. “The speech is completely generic.” The words were not said in a context that could be interpreted as incitement, he said, adding that the media had also reported it as such.
The police have to prove that she wrote the comment herself and that it was incitement, not ridicule, the lawyer explained.
The court made clear that cases were decided on the evidence submitted in court and not on what was written on news portals or in newspapers.
The court also said that it was tired of having to draw attention to the lack of education on the use of social networks and media. “Every day, even persons with responsibility upload posts without forethought and do not recognise the responsibility they have, especially when they are representatives of an institution. The courts themselves ended up abused and insulted on portals and social networks, and had to continue to suffer in silence because they are precluded from commenting.”
The magistrate said he understood that society was shocked by what had happened, but “our country is under the rule of law because it is a civilised country and, to date, a person aggrieved can find a remedy before the courts.”
When there are “baseless attacks against those keeping order in the country, society is embracing an asp that will kill it.”
In the circumstances, the court felt it had to send a clear signal that the forces of law and order “must have all the protection, and that nobody has the right to ridicule them or incite against them because they leave their homes to work and want to return home.”
“It they do not get a Gieħ ir Repubblika, at least there would not be people inciting against them.” Bail was denied in all three cases. Lawyer Yanika Bugeja appeared for D’Amato.