[WATCH] Muscat deceived public with gagging order statement after court arraignment: Repubblika

Repubblika has stated Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi have mislead the public when they stated that they are barred from giving comments to the media.

Ex-Repubblika president Robert Aquilina said that Muscat’s statement yesterday was Joseph Muscat’s and his lawyers’ manipulation. “It’s not true that there is a general ban,” Aquilina said.

In simple terms, Aquilina explained that the only thing the accused cannot do is what they are meant to do in public, but this does not prohibit them from commenting.

Aquilina said that after MaltaToday published the Vitals inquiry, everyone could see the mountain of evidence against Muscat, Schembri and Mizzi. He explained that in other countries, their charges would be considered mafia charges.

On Tuesday’s demonstrations by Joseph Muscat’s supporters, Aquilina blamed Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa for “undermining journalists,” and putting them in danger. Aquilina said that he had asked Gafa to place barriers around court similar to those present in front of Parliament.

He further criticised Robert Abela’s rhetoric which portrayed journalists and the judiciary as enemies of the state, fuelling hatred towards people doing their jobs.

Aquilina blasted the police’s inaction throughout the years, as he noted that they have never investigated the Vitals scandal as was their obligation. He also criticised the Attorney General’s and the Police Commissioner’s absence in court, as he described them as “compromised.”

“The truth is that they want to sabotage the case even with their absence,” he concluded.

On Tuesday, Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi, together with 11 other individuals pled not guilty to criminal charges in connection to the Vitals inquiry.

The case is a complex one, with at least 78 boxes of evidence that were gathered during Magistrate Gabriella Vella’s four-year inquiry, which had been initiated by anti-corruption NGO Repubblika.

So complex, in fact, that the charges took over an hour to be read out. That was followed by the defendants confirming their particulars to the court deputy registrar and, after that, their plea.

READ ALSO: Repubblika disappointed after court denies parte civile request in Muscat prosecution