Two men have pleaded guilty to assaulted two BirdLife Malta Spring Watch volunteers on April 18 in Dingli, the NGO said today. They also admitted threatening the volunteers, and slightly injuring one of them.

BirdLife said that on the day of the incident, its Spring Watch team heard shots coming from an area in Dingli. Two volunteers walked up a country lane to gain a better vantage point when a van drove along the track. Two men got out and immediately attacked them without warning.

The incident was caught on camera by one of the volunteers however the camera was dropped while he was attacked, and it was taken by the aggressor. The camera was later handed to the police by the aggressors, with the footage evidence of the attack deleted. Through O&O Media Recovery software the deleted footage was recovered by BirdLife. This footage was handed over to the police as evidence.

On April 22 the aggressors filed a judicial protest accusing the volunteers of trespassing, breaching the peace and assault. However at court today they failed to provide any evidence to support the charges against the volunteers. The charges were therefore dropped, BirdLife said.

The two men were then fined €80, conditionally discharged and held by a personal guarantee of €233 not to approach or molest both the volunteers for 12 months.

This, BirdLife said, is the first time in three years of attacks against its volunteers, where the aggressors had been convicted.

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http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100421/local/video-captures-violent-attack-on-birdlife-volunteers-in-dingli