Updated: 'Victims did not want to halt court proceedings' - PN

The Nationalist Party has called on the authorities to take steps according to law against two defence lawyers who work in the legal office of Angelo Farrugia & Associates for telling the Magistrates’ Court that Joseph Brownrigg and Grezzju Bondin were halting procedures against their clients.

The defence counsel in a reaction denied the PN claims.

The PN said in a statement that the case was related to incidents which had taken place outside a polling station at Zejtun during the European Parliament elections last June.

Mr Brownrigg and Mr Bondin were allegedly attacked by Labour supporters, including Edwin Bartolo, known as il-qahbu, outside the polling booth.

The case was due to be heard at 11.30 a.m. today but when the lawyers representing Mr Brownrigg and Mr Bondin arrived in court well before the appointed time, they were informed that the case had already been heard and it was declared that the proceedings had been exhausted.

The court had halted the proceedings because it was informed by the lawyers representing the accused that the alleged victims did not want to proceed. This was absolutely not the case, the PN said.

The party condemned this behaviour and called on the authorities to take action according to law.

DEFENCE COUNSEL'S REACTION

Dr Edward Gatt, defence counsel for the accused Edwin Bartolo and Salvatore Mifsud explained to timesofmalta.com that his clients had been summoned to appear in court at 9 a.m. Also present were two police inspectors for the prosecution.

Dr Gatt recalled that at the original arraignment, the accused were presented to court under arrest even though this was an alleged contravention and not a crime and they should not therefore have been arraigned under arrest.

Today, they had appeared as summoned at 9 a.m. At 11 a.m. he was instructed by his clients that the other parties and themselves had settled the issue. When the case was called, he told the Court that he had been told that the case was settled. Dr Gatt said that he himself had asked the Court to call the parties to confirm that the case had been settled. The police called the injured parties but they never showed up.

The inspectors never asked to give evidence and did not exhibit the summons to prove that the parties were informed about the sitting. In such circumstances, where the parties did not appear, the court said that the proceedings were extinguished and acquitted the accused.

Dr Gatt strongly denied that he ever misguided the court, and what had taken place only happened because the other parties did not appear before the court and the police had also not contradicted him.

PN PUBLISHES SUMMONS

The Nationalist Party in reaction to Dr Gatt's comments this evening published a copy of the summons showing that the case was scheduled for 11.30 a.m.