David Casa wants Venice Commission to investigate PM’s refusal to hold Jean Paul Sofia inquiry

Nationalist MEP David Casa has urged the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to mandate an investigation into the government’s refusal to launch a public inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia.

Casa asked the president to raise the assue at the Assembly and mandate the Venice Commission to investigate why government is refusing to hold the public inquiry.

“Failing an independent, dedicated institution to ensure human rights compliance in Malta, it falls on the Parliamentary Assembly to probe member states' governments for their compliance with the Convention,” Casa said.

Casa added that the refusal to grant an independent public inquiry for Jean Paul Sofia was not an isolated incident, referring to the international campaign to launch an independent public inquiry for Daphne Caruana Galizia.

“There are compelling reasons for an independent, public inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia,” Casa said. “His mother deserves closure.”

“She deserves to know precisely why her son is no longer with us, what led to his demise, whether regulations were breached that were meant to keep him safe, and whether individuals are responsible and answerable for her son’s loss.”

Jean Paul Sofia was killed in a construction site accident in December 2022 when a three-storey building he was working at collapsed during construction works.

Isabelle Bonnici, the mother of Jean Paul Sofia, has since been campaigning for the government to launch a public inquiry into her son’s death.

On Thursday, the Prime Minister wrote to the Chief Justice to give a stern telling-off to the magistrate presiding over the magisterial inquiry into Jean Paul Sofia’s death.  

He insisted that the magistrate has all the resources requested, and that the delays in the inquiry are unacceptable.