Mayor of Sliema accused of bribery

In a tense court, Sliema mayor Nikki Dimech was last night released on bail after he was arraigned with urgency following four hours of police questioning.

He pleaded “definitely not guilty” to charges of bribery and reviling, threatening or insulting a public officer.

Police Inspector Angelo Gafà said he felt reviled by two interviews Mr Dimech gave to the papers on Sunday, August 22, where, among other things, the mayor alleged that when he was first questioned he was refused the right to a lawyer or the use of his asthma inhaler despite suffering from a panic attack.

Mr Dimech’s lawyers, Joseph Giglio and Stephen Tonna Lowell, objected to the urgent arrest, arguing that Mr Dimech should not be arrested simply because the police were offended by his criticism of how they handled his interrogation.

“I lived these moments,” a stern Mr Gafà, prosecuting, told Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna, who ruled the urgent arrest justified given the seriousness of the bribery charge.

The prosecuting officer also objected to bail, informing the court that two days before his first interrogation the accused had approached the prosecution’s main witness, contractor Stephen Buhagiar, through a third party.

Mr Gafà said Mr Buhagiar was asked by Mr Dimech “through a third party” to drop his claims unless he wanted dirt on him to be revealed.

Defence counsel argued that if the approach to the main witness for the prosecution did not justify arraigning Mr Dimech on August 11, when he was first interrogated, it definitely did not justify keeping him under arrest now, after three weeks had passed.

The magistrate granted Mr Dimech bail against a deposit of €1,000 and a personal guarantee of €5,000. He also cautioned the accused against travelling abroad or approaching anyone involved in the case, particularly Mr Buhagiar. He was also ordered to register at the Sliema police station every Wednesday.

Mr Dimech appeared relaxed in a light grey suit, carrying a plastic bag with his belongings.

He was surrounded by family members and his fiancée, Valentina Rea, who was at one point ordered to leave the court room after Mr Gafà complained that she made unwarranted “gestures” at him.

Mr Dimech’s arraignment comes two days before a motion of no confidence is scheduled to be debated by the Sliema council.

It also comes after Nationalist Party general secretary Paul Borg Olivier sent a letter to all Sliema residents explaining why the party dismissed Mr Dimech.

The prosecution is asking the court to issue a general interdiction in Mr Dimech’s regard according to article 119 of the Criminal Code.

It produced four statements the mayor gave to the police, two on August 11 and another two yesterday.