In the article entitled ‘Italians insulted officers’, which appeared on Monday, it was reported that the presiding magistrate told the accused that “it was not acceptable to insult police officers even though this was acceptable in Italian culture”.

Times of Malta would like to clarify that at no stage did the presiding magistrate declare or imply that insulting police officers is acceptable in Italian culture.

On delivering judgment, the magistrate informed the defendants of the consequences they would face should they commit another offence during the operational period of their conditional discharge and told them that their expressions amounted to a criminal offence even if they were directed towards ordinary citizens, let alone public officers. He also explained to them that while Maltese courts examined the words and expressions used – and the effect on the people concerned – unlike courts in Italy they did not engage in a detailed analysis of the context, the people involved and the circumstances in which these words would have been uttered.

Nor do the Maltese judiciary seek to establish whether the remarks become less offensive in nature if they are used in common parlance – as an Italian court had ruled.

Any inconvenience caused by the misunderstanding is regretted.