Court fines columnist for no-show

Columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia has been fined €50 after failing to turn up for a court hearing in the defamation case instituted by Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera.

Her lawyer Roberto Montalto had filed an application to have the sitting postponed because he would be abroad but mistakenly cited the date of the sitting as Friday instead of Thursday.

Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona ignored the application because of the mistake but pointed out that Ms Caruana Galizia had been notified about the correct date and fined her €50 for not turning up. The case has now been deferred to September.

The case began in March after the columnist had written a series of blogs in late January about Magistrate Scerri Herrera who then filed a complaint to the police claiming defamation. In the blogs, Ms Caruana Galizia heavily lambasted the magistrate for leading a lifestyle which, she said, was inappropriate for a person in her position.

Ms Caruana Galizia is pleading not guilty to defaming the magistrate and harassing her. If found guilty, she faces up to a year in prison and a fine.

Lawyer Steve Tonna Lowell appeared for Magistrate Scerri Herrera who did attend the court sitting.