Paceville stabbings: Court finds grounds for indictment

The girlfriend of one of the victims of last Saturday’s stabbing described how blood was “shooting everywhere” whilst her boyfriend held his hand over a facial stab wound. 

The indiscriminate nature of last Sunday’s multiple stabbing in Paceville was highlighted by several witnesses as a court gave the green light for the man accused of the stabbings, Ehab Zorgani, to be indicted for attempted murder. 

The 22-year-old Libyan pleaded not guilty to two charges of attempted murder and six charges of grievous bodily harm using a sharp instrument, after he allegedly ran amok in Paceville early on Sunday morning, stabbing six passers-by. 

This morning, Magistrate Audrey Demicoli ruled that there was sufficient prima facie evidence for the accused to be placed under a bill of indictment.

The court had heard prosecuting police inspector Ian Abdilla testify how on 13 September, at 4am, the police had reacted to a report of a heated argument. Officers arriving at the scene had noticed that several people were already injured. Witnesses told police that an Arabic-looking man wearing a white shirt and a silver choker had been stabbing people. 

Police patrols found Zorgani hiding at the entrance of a nearby gym and identified him from the choker. A bloodstained penknife was found inside a plastic cup in a nearby dustbin. 

Inspector Baldacchino said he had been informed some hours later and had gone straight to Mater Dei hospital, where he spoke to the three Dutch, one Maltese and two Arabic victims. 

The first victim he had spoken to, Haji Salah, who is in danger of dying after suffering stab wounds to his face and back, did not have a clear idea of what happened.

But the Dutch victims, spoken to separately, both said that they had heard that there was a fight between a group of Libyans. All of a sudden, they saw a man run up the hill at them and stabbed them. None of the Dutch victims had anything to do with the fight, confirmed the inspector. 

Zorgani’s Maltese victim, Richard Galea, testified that he saw the accused going up the hill next to Axis nightclub, “swearing and insulting people, men specifically, before tearing their faces.” Galea himself needed several stitches to his face after the attack. 

Inspector Abdilla had questioned the accused and after several hours of interrogation, he corroborated the version given to him by stabbing victim Ali Mohannad Fadlallah’s. 

He said there was any argument between a friend of the accused, who he said was identified by his dreadlocks, and Fadlallah’s Libyan friend, Hadji Salah, who is bald. The court heard how a very drunk Salah had been “harassing women and looking for trouble, annoying everyone.”

The accused’s dreadlocked friend had approached Salah and told him to stop, as “he was giving a bad name to all Arabs.” The accused had taken offence and a fight broke out. 

Zorgani saw that a crowd was gathering and he proceeded to attack them too, said the inspector. 

Inspector Abdilla told the court that he was later shown CCTV footage from nearby clubs that captured the incident in its entirety. “We could see the gravity of the incident. Zirgani’s version of events checked out.” 

Galea, from Kirkop, told the court how he had been walking with his girlfriend towards his car on that Sunday morning. “All of a sudden, a young man came in the opposite direction and told him “f’għoxx kemm għandkom” twice, close to my face.”

After moving on, Galea then felt two blows to his back. “At first I thought they were punches but then blood started coming out of my mouth.” Galea, who appeared in court with fresh stitches on left side of face, recognised the accused in court. 

Galea’s girlfriend, Nicole Ghigo, also testified. “One second I let go of my boyfriend's hand to let people pass and then all hell broke loose.” 

“I saw this man with my very eyes try to provoke two men who were sitting on the wall. He was telling them, and later all the people in the street, ‘f’għoxx kemm għandkom’.” She also mentioned that he had been wearing a silver choker and bracelet. She recognised the items in court. 

She did not see the knife and thought he had only punched Galea but then saw blood on his face."There was a guy coming up from the alley and he was covered in blood from head to toe. Another Arab came past with slash wound on his left upper arm. " That man had told her that the same person who stabbed her boyfriend had also stabbed him. 

Zorgani carried on up the road towards Havana. “Richard was holding his mouth. Blood was shooting out of his face. Another man called the ambulance as I was in too much shock. When the police arrived, I could not remember what he looked like but then Richard made a sign around his neck and I remembered the choker and it all came back to me.” 

The Dutch witnesses had since left the island and may be summoned to give evidence at the next sitting, together with Fadlallah.