Imperium Europa says BA decision was not based on ‘racist’ remark against Norman Lowell

Imperium Europa, a far-right political movement, has issued a press release accusing various media outlets of deceptive reporting regarding a recent Broadcasting Authority (BA) ruling against Church radio station RTK.

In its statement, Imperium Europa said most media reports “falsely claim” that the BA based its decision on Azzopardi referring to Norman Lowell, the founder of Imperium Europa, as a "racist".

Imperium Europa contends that these reports misinterpret the actual ruling, stating that the Authority found Azzopardi's words tantamount to a declaration, challenging an official of the Authority during a program segment and defying the directives issued by the Broadcasting Authority during electoral campaigns.

Imperium Europa also referred to a condition imposed on RTK in August 2022 for another breach by Azzopardi. The party clarified that the €6,410 penalty mentioned in some media reports is a cumulative amount, including a fine related to a 2022 case.

Additionally, Imperium Europa references a 2013 court judgment related to Norman Lowell, where it is argued that the court did not find Lowell guilty of incitement of racial hatred but rather of the mere possibility thereof, as per Article 82A of the Criminal Code. Imperium Europa calls for a revision of the legislation and urges Members of Parliament to address the issue.

 The BA decision, published on Tuesday, says that Azzopardi’s comments “were out of place and went beyond a simple opinion, but amounted to a declaration”.

The BA also said that Azzopardi could have presented his argument without mentioning Lowell or any specific persons.

The ruling followed on a complaint by Imperium Europa against Azzopardi for “consciously and intentionally fomenting malice and discrimination through declarative remarks against Norman Lowell”.

The complaint also cites a breach of Article 34(1) of the Broadcasting Act. This part of the law empowers the Broadcasting Authority to consider complaints of unjust or unfair treatment in sound or television programmes broadcast in Malta.

Read Imperium Europa’s full right-of-reply below

We write with reference to several media reports about the Broadcasting Authority decision of the 22nd of January 2024, in which the Authority found against RTK. Most of these reports falsely claim that the Authority based its decision on the fact that the presenter, Prof. Andrew Azzopardi, called Mr Norman Lowell a “racist”.

The decision itself states that the presenter’s words were tantamount to a declaration. The Authority observed that it was possible for the presenter to raise the same concerns without mentioning Mr Lowell. The decision states that the part of the program objected to, was played during the hearing, hence the Authority must have listened to the following: “Lowell”, “razzist u xenofobiku” (racist and xenophobe), “ma għandux ċans jidħol, anqas jekk jintrabat mal-bieb” (he stands no chance of being invited, not even if he chains himself to the door). This amounts to defying and challenging an official of the Authority to her face, in public, regarding the observance of those directives issued by the Broadcasting Authority during electoral campaigns. Prof. Andrew Azzopardi adamantly stated that he would not respect them.

The media didn’t study the decision carefully. Had it done so, it would have been aware of a condition imposed by the Broadcasting Authority on RTK on the 4th of August 2022. The station admitted to those accusations brought against it in that case, consisting of the breach of one of its directives by the same recalcitrant presenter, Prof. Andrew Azzopardi. The Authority warned the station that it will award a fine of Euro 4,660 in case of another breach being committed within the next three years. Hence the media was not accurate when it reported that the latest decision against RTK imposed a penalty of Euro 6,410 since this is a cumulative amount.

Reference is also being made to the 2013 Pulizija vs Norman Lowell judgment. On page 25, Judge Quintano referred to Article 82A of the Criminal Code whereas on page 28, in bold, the judgment stated that Article 82A does not necessarily require an effective racial hatred to be breached. In his explanation, Judge Quintano stated that certainty is not required and that “probability” is enough to prove a breach of Article 82A, explaining that “probability” has connotatons much less onerous to prove than “beyond reasonable doubt”. In other words, in interpreting this problematic legislation brought forward by Dr. Tonio Borg, which we appeal to all Members of Parliament to revise, the Court did not find Mr Norman Lowell guilty of incitement of racial hatred but of the mere possibility therefof, as can be found in the third paragraph of page 29 “when the appellant’s words are considered in context, this probability existed”.