Magistrate mulls whether to force Caruana Galizia to reveal source of Mizzi allegations

Magistrate Francesco Depasquale is to decide on whether blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia can be forced to reveal the identity of the police source whom had claimed to have seen Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi in an intimate embrace with a member of his staff.

The Independent columnist had told the court that “a very high-ranking police officer” was the source of the allegation. The court was also told that the unnamed police officer had since taken early retirement.

By law, journalists cannot be forced to reveal their sources. But lawyer Paul Lia, appearing on behalf of Mizzi, argued that Caruana Galizia was not a journalist. To prove this point, he asked the defendant whether the blog, on which she had published the story, was registered as per the Press Act.

She replied that it was not possible to register a blog under the Press Act. Lia pointed to this as evidence that Caruana Galizia was, consequently not entitled to protection as a journalist.

Her website was not a news website, Lia added, but one in which she shared gossip.

“Caruana Galizia wanted people to think that the person who gave her the information was a retired policeman,” he added.

Caruana Galizia’s lawyer, Joseph Zammit Maempel, argued that Caruana Galizia was “accredited as a journalist” and that the law could not force journalists to reveal their sources.


Lia was heard commenting that the blogger “must think she was untouchable.”

Towards the end of the sitting, Caruana Galizia moved to speak to her lawyer, near the bench where Mizzi was seated. Mizzi told the court that she had threatened him – a claim immediately rebutted by Caruana Galizia.

Magistrate Depasquale warned both parties to choose the words they use in his courtroom carefully, before adjourning to March for a decision on whether Caruana Galizia is a journalist or not and, hence, whether she may be obliged to reveal the source of her allegations.