'Sammut threatened criminal libel over gun incident inside Valletta office'

MaltaToday editor tells court that notary Mark Sammut had threatened fellow notary with a gun, but journalist was warned he would be sued for criminal libel

Mark Sammut did not deny threatening a former colleague, but threatened the journalist with criminal libel
Mark Sammut did not deny threatening a former colleague, but threatened the journalist with criminal libel

The editor of MaltaToday testified in a civil libel suit filed against Mark Sammut, the author of a polemic on the Panama Papers, saying he had been threatened with criminal libel if he published an account where Sammut had allegedly used a pistol to threaten a former colleague.

Matthew Vella was testifying in a libel suit filed by author Mark Vella, against Sammut, who alleged on social media that Vella had won a publishing contest through his acquaintance with both the publisher and a jury member on the panel that selected the winning publication. The book had also been selected by a popular vote.

In his testimony, Vella said that the acrimony between Mark Vella – who is his brother – and Sammut stemmed from an incident during which the journalist had enquired with Sammut about an alleged threat he had made to notary Victor Bisazza several years back.

“I had called notary Bisazza to ask him about an incident during which Sammut allegedly pointed a gun to his face – soon after this incident the two notaries split up their Valletta office in two separate offices in the same building; Bisazza had confirmed the incident but told me he didn’t want to comment on the matter, wanting bygones to be bygones.

“Sammut on the other hand would not deny the incident in question when I faced him about it. He instead threatened me with criminal libel, so I didn’t publish the story at the time.”

In a separate case, Mark Vella and MediaToday managing editor Saviour Balzan have also been sued for criminal libel on a complaint by Sammut’s mother Catherine, over an obituary of the writer Frans Sammut, penned by Mark Vella in the newspaper.

An employee of the European Parliament in Luxembourg, Sammut was a former Labour candidate whose local notoriety stems from an incident where he was caught carrying a firearm at Malta International Airport; his acquittal was overturned by the Appeals Court in 2010, with a suspended sentence.

In Luxembourg, where he now works with the European institutions, Sammut is facing an administrative enquiry for allegedly threatening, slandering and intimidating his head of unit Joseph Caruana. He has made identical counter-accusations.

Lawyer Claire Bonello is appearing for Mark Vella, whilst lawyer Antonio Depasquale is appearing for Sammut.