The former chairman of the Malta Council for the Arts, Adrian Mamo, this morning acknowledged the decision by Silvio Scerri, the Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Home Affairs, to drop a defamation case against him which was instituted three years ago, yet deplored the fact that the unfounded case was instituted in the first place.

Mr Scerri had started the case in his capacity as a businessman after having taken offence over an e-mail sent by Mr Mamo to him, copied to then Education and Culture Minister Dolores Cristina and Finance Minister Tonio Fenech in reply to an email by Silvio Scerri to the MCCA and copied to the same ministers.

Mr Scerri's lawyer declared in court today that since he was no longer involved in business, Silvio Scerri no longer had an interest in the case.

Mr Mamo's lawyer, Joe Giglio, said that there had been nothing criminal in the e-mail which Mr Scerri had complained of, yet the case dragged on for three years.

He said that Mr Mamo deplored the fact that the proceedings had been instituted, only for them to be dropped three years later on an irrelevant and incorrect premise. In the course of these three years Mr Scerri had, on several occasions, solicited an apology from Mr Mamo, yet Mr Mamo refused.

Dr Giglio said Mr Mamo had no reason to apologise for doing his job as MCCA chairman and it was actually Mr Scerri who should apologise for having opened the court case.

Magistrate Saviour Demicoli dismissed the case.

 

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