Police Commissioner Peter Paul Zammit reiterated today that, at this stage, there was not enough proof to arraign former EU Commissioner John Dalli and prove that he was guilty without reasonable doubt as required by law and the Courts.
The Commissioner said that the case was still being investigated and any statement at this stage would prejudice the case.
He said he was not in a position to enter into controversies of a political nature which could prejudice investigations.
Earlier today, Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil called for the resignation of Dr Zammit and for the Prime Minister to shoulder his responsibility following the testimony given yesterday in Court by former Commissioner John Rizzo in relation to the bribery case involving Mr Dalli.
Dr Busuttil told a news conference that this was a dark week for democracy in Malta and he described the developments that emerged yesterday as “very, very grave”.
He pointed out that Mr Rizzo had said that former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and his cabinet did not interfere in the Dalli investigation.
Mr Rizzo and his team had decided to charge Mr Dalli in agreement with the Attorney General but following the government change, Mr Dalli, who for months was abroad getting treatment for psycho-social problems, suddenly returned to Malta and the new Commissioner, who was appointed right when Mr Dalli returned, decided to go against the advice of his predecessor and the AG.
It was not possible that the AG had changed his position and agreed with both the previous and present Commissioners, Dr Busuttil said as he called for AG Peter Grech to clarify his position.
Dr Busuttil said that when one looked at the timing of everything, the fact that Mr Dalli was abroad all the time and returned only after the election result was out, and given what was now public knowledge as a result of Mr Rizzo’s testimony, the only conclusion was that there was political interference by the government to manipulate the course of justice.
“This issue is not about John Dalli, or about whether he is guilty or innocent but about justice. Malta is no longer a normal democracy where justice is the same for all but one can expect the course of justice to be altered by the government,” Dr Busuttil said.
The responsibility for all this was on the Prime Minister’s lap who had clearly given his blessing for all this to happen.
“This is a morally corrupt government. Labour promised meritocracy and justice but is undermining both in the clearest of manners,” Dr Busuttil said.
When Mr Rizzo was yesterday asked why he had not arraigned Gayle Kimberly as suggested by the Olaf investigators, he had said that these decisions were subjective.
Asked by timesofmalta.com whether one could justify the new Commissioner’s decision in the same manner, Dr Busuttil said that good judgement should have led the new Commissioner to accept the advice of his predecessor especially given the sensitivity of the case.
Instead he went about changing things round to the detriment of the course of justice.
He also pointed out that, after the election, the whole investigative team working on this case - the former Commissioner, the former assistant Commissioner Michael Cassar and Inspector Angelo Gafa no longer continued to work on it.
While Mr Rizzo was moved to the Civil Protection Department, the latter two were moved to the Secret Services.