Alfred Sant ordered to pay €1,000 to former minister

Former Prime Minister Alfred Sant was ordered to pay €1,000 in damages to former Nationalist minister Ninu Zammit, after the court decided that a 2007 speech he made was defamatory.

On 19 August 2007, Sant delivered a speech stating that Zammit was paid compensation for the expropriation of 187 square metres of land opposite his residence.

The area was expropriated by the former Nationalist government to widen a road in 1989 and 16 years later, in 2006, Zammit was paid compensation.

In his speech, Sant alleged that Zammit was given compensation because he was a minister, and described the case as an “abuse of power.”

The court ruled that the allegations were libellous and defamatory. "While being a minister, Zammit was also a citizen who had the right to be compensated for expropriated land. Zammit's neighbours were also compensated in connection with the same case", the court said.

The former premier was ordered to pay Zammit €1,000 in damages.