Warden brutally assaulted businessman who filmed him playing dirty

A warden brutally assaulted a businessman who had filmed him hiding behind a roundabout and taking down notes of passing cars in Gharghur.

An 18-second video clip of Igor Samardziski delivering a punch to a warden by the popular roundabout at Tal-Balal went viral back in March and many, including justice minister Owen Bonnici, took to social media to condemn the assault.

I condemn the attack on a local warden today in Gharghur. Totally unacceptable. Aggressor has been arrested. Justice should be served.

— Owen Bonnici (@OwenBonnici) March 20, 2017

However, testimony presented in court on Wednesday during the case against the 34-year-old Serbian – who has been charged with assaulting and slightly injuring the warden, 51-year-old Patrick Paul Attard – paints a completely different version of events.

The person who had filmed the ordeal, Matthew Zammit, a motor mechanic who operates a repair shop near the roundabout, has testified that he had started to film the incident after seeing the warden beating up Samardziski, but only succeeded in capturing the latter’s retaliation to the warden’s assault.

He said that the warden had struck Samardziski multiple times, first in the neck and face and then managed to hit his mobile phone out of his hands with the second blow, prompting the Serb to try to pick it up from the ground.

While Samardziski was trying to pick up his phone, the warden attacked him again, this time grabbing him by the shirt, and Samardziski headbutted the warden in retaliation. At this point the men got into a fight, the witness said. Asked by Samardziski’s lawyer whether he had filmed the whole altercation, Zammit said that he only managed to film the very end of it as it took some time to grab his phone and start filming.

Igor Samardziski

“Igor kept trying to leave, but the warden kept trying to go for him. To hold him, run after him, to hit him,” Zammit said.

Lawyer Alfred Abela, who is appearing parte civile for Attard, asked if Samardziski had been filming when he approached the warden.

“I don’t know if he was filming but his mobile was up,” Zammit said. “I heard him say from across the street that it is illegal to be standing there hiding behind the cars. He was talking to the warden, he wasn’t arguing.”

MaltaToday is informed that Samardziski, the CEO of a prominent software development company, had filmed the incident while he was walking to work as part of his training to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for charity. Indeed, Samardziski is a philanthropist – his business sponsors several local NGOs and his staff, as well as himself, frequently take part in clean ups at Maltese beaches and the countryside. 

The witness added that, after Samardizki walked away from the scene, the warden’s first reaction was to pull out his mobile, make calls and afterwards follow the man apace.

MaltaToday is also informed that 50 metres down that same road, Samardziski was jumped on by the warden and another man. The second man pinned Samardziski to the floor, as Attard kicked him repeatedly in the face and abdomen. This corroborates a photo of Samardsiski’s face, which is clearly marked with the warden’s bootprint.

During the sitting on Wednesday, the warden’s alleged accomplice, Jimmy Galea, was called in by the prosecution to testify against Samardziski. However, following the magistrate’s explanation that his testimony may be used to incriminate himself if he was part of any wrongdoing, Galea declined to testify and recused himself from the courtroom. 

The case is being heard by Magistrate Grazio Mercieca, while inspector Elton Taliana is prosecuting, lawyers Giannella de Marco, Stephen Tonna Lowell and Gianluca Caruana Curran are defence counsel to Samardziski, and lawyer Alfred Abela is appearing parte civle for the warden.

The case continues in September. 

[email protected]