Newspaper editor's front door torched

The front door of MaltaToday editor Saviour Balzan's house was torched by arsonists early yesterday morning.

Mr Balzan, whose residence is in Triq iz-Zenqa, Naxxar, a stone's throw away from the police station, said he was roused from sleep at 3.50 a.m. by his dog's barking to realise his front door was on fire.

"It must have been ablaze for about five minutes. I rushed downstairs and threw a bucket of water at the door. The police arrived soon after and we managed to put the fire out," he told The Times.

Nobody was injured in the incident.

An empty bucket found on site indicates that the arsonists probably hurled fuel from the bucket at the door before setting it ablaze with a burning rag.

"This makes me aware of what victims of arson go through when they experience attacks on their property. In no way will this stop me from doing my job as a journalist," Mr Balzan said.

Asked whether he could link the attacks to some recent editorial stand taken by his news-paper or an opinion he had expressed publicly, Mr Balzan said it was not rare in a 25-year career that he tackled controversial issues.

"From time to time, thoughts that I might be a target have gone through my mind. But you need to move on. Of course, what happened to me might happen to others," Mr Balzan said.

The police are investigating and duty Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna has opened an inquiry.

There has been a spate of arson attacks over the past weeks. On Tuesday, a boathouse in Qawra and a car in Valletta were destroyed by fire. On Sunday, firemen were called in to put out a fire that engulfed a car in Cospicua and, last week, arsonists set a house ablaze after breaking in.

In previous weeks, cars belonging to the Jesuit community of St Aloysius' College, in Birkirkara, were destroyed by arsonists, as were cars and doors of people connected to the Jesuit Refugee Service in what are believed to be racially motivated attacks.

The attack on Mr Balzan was yesterday condemned by the Institute of Maltese Journalists (IGM) and the newly set up Journalists' Committee.

The IGM said the attack, which happened on World Press Freedom Day, was an attempt to silence the right to freedom of expression.

"The institute extends its solidarity with Mr Balzan as it has done with hundreds of journalists who were imprisoned, killed or kidnapped over the past year," IGM spokesman Mario Schiavone said.

Expressing solidarity with Mr Balzan, the Journalists' Committee condemned the cowardly attack on Mr Balzan, a member of the committee, describing it as a serious attack on freedom of expression.

"We appeal to the authorities to swiftly bring to justice these criminals whose actions are a direct assault on the fundamental freedoms of our democratic society," committee spokesman Massimo Farrugia said.