BBC Radio 5 has featured an interview with student editor Mark Camilleri over the furore in Malta caused by the graphic short story on the newspaper Realta.

The programme was discussing censorship around the world, especially the recent spat between Google and China.

Journalist Rhod Sharp said that if a story like Mr Camilleri's had been published in other European countries it would have gone unnoticed but Malta was "different".

Mr Camilleri spoke about the uproar against the police's decision to prosecute him and about how censorship had reared its head frequently on the island in recent years.

Mr Camilleri said he did not publish the story just to shock, but because he honestly believed it had artistic value and literary merit. He never expected all this "ruckus" since his newspaper had published controversial art before but was never prosecuted for it.

"We miscalculated, it seems," he said.

He said the story painted a reality of Maltese life, which did not go down well, possibly because it was so true.