Bonnici wants criminal libel removed, but censorship law comes first

Justice minister Owen Bonnici today said that he would be pushing for the removal of criminal libel but the pending censorship and freedom of expression law which is yet to be approved by Parliament takes precedence.

Speaking after the launch of the Malta International Arts Festival at Fort St Elmo in Valletta, Bonnici said that he personally agrees with the removal of criminal libel and government was discussing the matter internally.

However, the minister said any bill proposing the removal of criminal libel would have to wait for the approval of the vilification law.

“We’ll first get the censorship and freedom of expression law passed in parliament, then we’ll move to criminal libel,” he said.

But Bonnici warned that defamation laws would remain as people should have a right to sue for libel if they are slandered.

His comments come in the wake of the political controversy surrounding the criminal libel proceedings initiated by former police commissioner Peter Paul Zammit against opposition MP Jason Azzopardi.

Zammit filed his complaint over a press conference Azzopardi convened over a data protection investigation that found the former police chief responsible for the leak of a police inspector’s personal file.

The Opposition is alleging that the decision by the executive police to press charges on Zammit’s complaint was pushed by the government, a charge the Prime Minister has denied.