Former Prime Minister and author Alfred Sant believes University rector Juanito Camilleri made a “cardinal mistake” when he reported a student newspaper to the police for publishing a sexually explicit short story last year.

However, the literary heavyweight did not go so far as editor Mark Camilleri and author Alex Vella Gera, who say Prof. Camilleri should issue a public apology or resign in light of the court’s ruling that their story did not offend public morals.

“I’m not saying he should resign,” Dr Sant said, adding also that an apology did not mean much in this country.

“He should accept that there was a problem,” he said, referring to Prof. Camilleri’s decision to report the student newspaper for police action to be taken.

He also thinks Prof. Camilleri is not justified in refusing to comment until it becomes clear if the police will appeal the court’s ruling.

“What does that have to do with anything,” asked Dr Sant, who had written an affidavit to defend the author and editor in court.

The police had until yesterday to appeal the judgment. Although they have refused to answer questions by The Times about whether they would be appealing, it is understood that no appeal was filed by the time of publishing.

Magistrate Audrey Demicoli this week found that the prosecution had brought no evidence to define public morality in Malta and how it had been infringed. In the court’s opinion, the fact that the piece, published in student newspaper Realtà, was shocking and evoked disgust in readers did not qualify as obscene and pornographic.

Former president of the Chamber of Advocates, Andrew Borg Cardona, welcomed the court judgment and said the magistrate sent a clear message to legislators to ensure there are clear definitions in the law.

“The magistrate said public morality has to be defined appropriately and the absence of a definition means the accused cannot be found guilty.”

However, Dr Borg Cardona said he preferred judges and magistrates to “take the temperature of the time (and rule accordingly), because any definition today is out of date tomorrow.”

Asked whether the rector should resign, Dr Borg Cardona said he too was “extremely disappointed” by the rector’s asking the police to prosecute, but this should not amount to a resignation.

“He should acknowledge he was wrong. But the courts exist so differences of opinion can be resolved. I’m disappointed he had that opinion. But now it has been resolved and I don’t think he should resign or apologise.”

Media lecturer Fr Joe Borg said he still had a “very poor opinion” of the controversial story and found comfort in the opinion of established writers who shared his view.

While the magistrate’s court felt this story fell within the boundaries of the law, “other courts may have a different opinion”, he said. But until any different judgment is given, this decision should be “fully respected”.

“Besides, I think that it is better to err on the side of the extension of freedom than to err for its restriction.”

Fr Borg said magistrates who say there is an illegality do not apologise or resign when a higher court decides there is no illegality, so the same should apply to the rector, who took his decision to report after legal advice.

Law lecturer David Friggieri said he too did not think the rector should resign, “but this issue does kick up a few vital questions”.

The rector is “no stuffy traditionalist”, he said, and took a “functional decision” towards a text that was “somewhat revolutionary for cliché-ridden old Malta”.

“But perhaps the Realtà debacle does show us the limits of a purely pragmatic, largely functional, almost mechanical vision of what a vibrant university should be. An appreciation of where facts end and literature begins is as crucial as understanding the intricacies of nanotechnology.”

The National Council of Women, which had slammed the story for glorifying sexual violence, reiterated its no-tolerance stand to “sexist insults and degrading images of women and men in the media”.

The council said any “directly or indirectly” discriminatory text was “simply reinforcing the ingrained culture that women, rather than being free, independent thinkers on equal footing with men, are simply sex objects”.