Labour supporter remanded in custody after Zabbar brawl

A Labour Party supporter was remanded in custody after he was charged with seriously injuring another man during a political argument after the PN mass meeting in Zabbar yesterday.

21 January 2013, 12:00am
by Karl Stagno-Navarra

1 min read

Magistrate Marsann Farrugia has ordered that Alfred Gialanze, 56 of Zabbar, be remanded in custody, after he was charged with seriously injuring Anton Vassallo by smashing a glass in his face, when an argument broke out in a bar in Zabbar, where the Nationalist Party organised a mass meeting yesterday afternoon.

Gialanze, who denied the charges, was also accused of injuring anothe bystander, Michelle Wilson, during the fight.

In submissions before the Court, Inspector Frank Sammut said the accused originally planned to attend the Labour Party mass meeting in Rabat, but later decided to drink at a bar near the bus terminus in Zabbar, close to where the PN organised its mass meeting yesterday.

The incident happened shortly after the PN mass meeting ended and the bar was packed with PN supporters.

An unidentified person allegedly passed a remark at Gialanze, who retaliated with swearing while challening PN supporters to a fight.

Victim Anton Vassallo, who is also from Zabbar, tried to intervene and calm Gialanze down, asking him to ignore the comment and to get on with his business.

Gialanze refused, grabbed a large glass and smashed it in Vassallo's face, causing him permanent injury. He also hit Michelle Wilson, who also needed to be hospitalised.

Inspector Sammut strongly objected to Gialanze's plea for bail, insisting that the accused and the victims all live in Zabbar and there was a serious risk that the matter could escalate, or evidence be contaminated.

After seeing the accused criminal record, Magistrate Marsann Farrugia denied bail and ordered that Gialanze be remanded in custody at Corradino Prisons.

More from Karl Stagno-Navarra

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Labour Supporter... as if this person was wearing a football gear. You can identify him. I am sick to hear these news. Way back to the past. Can we have a break. Well I had my grandmother a staunch nationalist and helper (she never called herself a canvaser, the word canvaser is too hamalla to use). She used to tell me that labourites are too easy to provoke. Hope that both parties will declare for a more peacful election. Anyway, I decide in more serious issues.

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Honestly these lejburisti cannot be trusted always up to mischief... Does the name Karl Stagno Navarra ring a bell? It sounds familiar. Maybe this reporter has every reason to blow this whole incident up!

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@Maltese,before you start accusing PL supporters first you need to know what you don't know,don't talk from your backside!did you was at the scene? noooo!! do you know both persons personally??? no!I know them better than you for sure for many years now,both of them are familiar with police & I think you better think before you post next time,do not blame nobody if you was not present at the scene!it is very immature from your side to talk on this particular case when it is still under police investigation.

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David Bongailas •

Oh dear oh dear oh dear. It is 2013 and the Nats are still using the violence card! Dear maltese I come from a staunch Nationalist family as a child I was dragged to every Nationalist poltical activity you can imagine and yes I've seen violence carried out by Nationalist supporters with my own eyes after each and every Nationalist electoral victory. Make no mistake the Nationalists had every right to organise a mass meeting in the south Of malta but can anyone expect ALL labour supporters (the vast majority of Zabbar residents are Labour supporters by the way) to stay indoors simply because the Nationalists are in town painting the town blue ? UNfortunately incidents like these will repeat themselves during the election campaign. DR.Gonzi conveniently wanted a llllooonnnggg campaign. THis is what a llllooonnnggg campaign brings.

Igor P. Shuvalov •

Mr/Ms Maltese, does this single person,represent and reflects the attitude of the whole Labour Party? According to the report presumably a Nationalist supporter passed a remark at Gialanze'. Was it a political remark? If so was he trying to provoke this man? Yes the accused made a big mistake when he retaliated and hopefully we would not have such incidents again.

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@maltese imagine what would happen if gonzipn won the elections..... and talking about violence it has been proven in court that Karen Grech's murder was politically motivated.Who's the violent one then?

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Why is the report on another online newspaper a little different, in that that MR Gialenze was provoked. Not that one should support violence but it is shameful how things are reported. By the way may one ask why since the incident at Tal-Balal the PN/gonzipn nver made another mass meeting at Zejtun?

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All violence should be condemned, punto e basta. The destruction of a monument by PN supporters yesterday is also to be condemned. For some reason this act of vandalism has hardly received any coverage.

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Does Labour condone Gialanze's behaviour? I hope they don't. Indeed it would be better for Labour to condemn such behaviour; after all Malta belongs to us all. Such a condemnation by Labour would help to nip violence in the bud and would demonstrate that Labour has really changed.

Luke Camilleri •

ALREADY TRYING TO MAKE MOUNTAINS OUT OF MOLEHILLS.... Jitfghu il-gebla u jahbu idejhom! Attenti mill provokazzjoni! M'ilux ukoll kien hemm kaz ta' qtil Marsaxlokk u nafu ghand liema Barman ta' liema kazin kienet l'Arma ... U KULLHADD GHANDHU XI JXOMM! U ma ninsewx ix-xuffier ta' Mario Galea li mar jghamel vendikazzjoni fuq il-karozza tal Ministru biex jehlu il-Laburisti..... imma inqghabad!

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Its ugly to say it but it is almost always Labour supporters that use violence. It is useless to say that the two parties have the same supporters because on balance LABOUR DID MUCH MORE VIOLENCE THEN pn, BOTH MORAL AND PHYSICAL. rEMEMBER after the election of 2008 a labour supporter had fired shots at the pn club in Imqabba. What is worrying is that this Labour Zabbar supporter was in a bar full of Pn supporters and he still used violence. So imagine what certain Labour supporters would do if they won the election. Intelligent voters beware - dont cry afterwards. We know what happened in the past. The past is the mirror of the future.