‘The court room is for court cases, not press conferences’
Attorney General Peter Grech said yesterday that one of the lawyers for Opposition Leader Adrian Delia kept repeating a particular phrase in court “so that it would be picked up as a sound bite” by journalists reporting the case.
The AG was speaking to journalists after meeting with the European Parliament’s LIBE delegation, which is investigating the rule of law in Malta and Slovakia.
Grech met the MEP’s at the EP office in Valletta, following a meeting the delegation had with a number of independent media journalists, including from The Malta Independent.
He was asked about the court case instituted against him by Opposition Leader Adrian Delia, who is insisting that, like the Prime Minister, he should be given a full copy of the Egrant inquiry report.
Recently it was reported that the AG had commented that certain court cases were filed “for the media.” The PN leader has accused the AG of “disrespecting” all those who file a case in court.
Asked about these comments, the Attorney General said it seemed to him at the time that the Opposition Leader’s lawyer “was repeating the same sentence over and over – in the sense that I would never reveal correspondence between me and the PM, which is something that I do not recall saying - simply because there were reporters present and that this would make for a good sound bite. That was the spirit of my comment.” Grech said he had been accused of insulting all those who filed a court case, but what he meant was that people sometimes behaved in a certain way when in the presence of journalists. “We know that certain people, even lawyers, behave differently when journalists are present. In this particular circumstance, I felt that a particular sentence was being repeated to be picked up as a soundbite. The courtroom is for court cases, not press conferences.”
Asked about the meeting with the LIBE MEPs, Grech said he had attended in his capacity as AG and as the chair of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU).
“It is important that there is this dialogue and that we exchange our views. It was a positive and civilized discussion. We explained that, with regards to prosecution, we are loyal to the facts and the law,” Grech said.
The delegation is chaired by Dutch MEP and vice-chair of the ALDE group in the European Parliament Sophia in’t Veld. Apart from Giegold, the delegation is then made up of Nationalist Party MEP Roberta Metsola, and MEPs Josef Weidenholzer and Monica Macovei.
Weidenholzer forms part of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) whilst Macovei forms part of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR).
The EP delegation is also set to meet with a number of NGOs and activists. It has also requested meetings with the Police Commissioner, Attorney General and Chief Justice.
Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi has reportedly told the delegation that he is “unavailable” to meet them. Nexia BT has also declined a meeting with the delegation.