Fenech-Theuma ‘calumny’ complaints: police told to hold off investigation until after trial

The Attorney General had advised the police not to investigate criminal complaints filed by Melvin Theuma and Yorgen Fenech against each other, until criminal proceedings against them were concluded, a court has been told.

Superintendent Victor Aquilina took the witness stand before Magistrate Nadine Lia in challenge proceedings filed by the self-confessed middleman in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Melvin Theuma. 

Theuma had filed the challenge proceedings against the Commissioner of Police, claiming the police failed to investigate Yorgen Fenech for having filed an allegedly false police report against Theuma himself.

Superintendent Frank Tabone had resisted a request that he exhibit all of the evidence requested by Theuma’s lawyers, until they indicated the objective of the request, describing the challenge proceedings as a “fishing expedition”. 

In a previous sitting in April, one of Theuma’s lawyers, Kathleen Calleja Grima, had informed the court that a copy of the separate criminal complaint filed by Fenech against Theuma was yet to be inserted in the acts of the case. The magistrate had, however, pointed out that these proceedings were against the Commissioner of Police and not Fenech.

“AG advised us not to investigate until the other prosecutions are concluded”

When the case resumed on Tuesday afternoon, Superintendent  Aquilina exhibited a copy of the criminal complaint filed by Fenech on 22 October.

Calleja Grima cross-examined Superintendent Aquilina, asking him to explain which court proceedings Theuma’s criminal complaint dealt with. The lawyer said her client was making two claims, calumny and intimidation of a witness. She asked whether the Superintendent had spoken to the prosecuting officers in relation to the criminal complaint.

“I spoke to my superior officer, at the time Assistant Commissioner Stephen Mallia. We then went to seek legal advice from the Attorney General, Victoria Buttigieg.” Assistant Commissioner Sandro Gatt from the Major Crimes Unit and Inspector Darryl Borg had also been present for these meetings, he said.

“The AG gave us indications, rather advice, that in these circumstances nothing was to be investigated until the cases are concluded and to communicate this information to the lawyers representing the parties.”

Aquilina said no investigations into the complaint took place.

With regards to the recordings and testimony exhibited and handed to the police by Theuma, he said that he had not requested a copy of them nor heard them, on the advice of his superiors and, subsequently, the Attorney General.

The Superintendent added that he had followed this advice and not requested a copy. The legal advice given to the police was not to investigate either of the complaints until the criminal proceedings against them were concluded, he said.

Superintendent Aquilina exhibited his replies to correspondence received from Yorgen Fenech’s lawyers Charles Mercicea and Gianluca Caruana Curran as well as those he had sent to lawyers Kathleen Calleja Grima and Matthew Brincat, who are representing Theuma.

Melvin Theuma’s cross examination still reserved, lead investigator confirms

Superintendent Keith Arnaud took the witness stand next.

Arnaud had investigated the Caruana Galizia murder, together with Inspector Kurt Zahra and subsequently prosecuted several individuals, including Yorgen Fenech.

Calleja Grima asked what Theuma’s position was, in the proceedings against Fenech. “He is a witness. He testified several times as a prosecution witness. I’m not sure whether he had been summoned as a defence witness too.”

The lawyer asked whether Theuma had concluded his testimony and the cross-examination. “He definitely finished his testimony and I believe the cross-examination is currently suspended.” 

The lawyer asked whether the witness had ever been asked for information by other officers in connection with a criminal complaint filed by Theuma against Fenech. “I originally found out about it from the media. Later I received a summons to testify.”

“Did superintendent Victor Aquilina ask you for any information in relation to the criminal complaint?” asked the lawyer. “Not advice, but information. Probably we might have spoken about it, but we gave no advice and we hadn’t even investigated it ourselves…I just gave him a very brief background to what had been done but that was the extent of our discussion.”

Inspector Kurt Zahra from the Homicide Squad testified next, as one of the prosecutors in the case against Fenech. He stressed that he had not been involved in the resulting investigation. Neither had he been spoken to by Superintendent Aquilina about the criminal complaint, he said.

Zahra testified to having only “superficial knowledge or dealings” with regards to this particular criminal complaint, before it was handed over to the Valletta police station. “The office which sent it to us, the legal office, I believe, we had told them that we weren’t the right people to investigate the claims… We had investigated the homicide and arrested both Theuma and Fenech. We had a role in these events and felt we should keep our distance. Besides this, we are homicide investigators and our job is to investigate homicides.”

The case was adjourned to November, with the Registrar of Courts expected to testify during the next sitting.

Inspector Darryl Borg appeared for the Commissioner of Police. Lawyers Kathleen Calleja Grima and Matthew Brincat appeared for Theuma.

One of Yorgen Fenech’s  lawyers, Charles Mercieca, was also present in the courtroom today’s sitting.