Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said today that the contrasting tweets issued on Saturday by the prime minister and himself on plans by Hibs to sign convicted rapist Ched Evans were a result of looking at the case from different angles.
Speaking on TimesTalk, Dr Bonnici said his tweet, saying that everybody deserved a second chance, stemmed from his firm belief in the rehabilitation of prisoners and their reintegration into society once they served their term. This would benefit not just the people concerned, but also society itself because whenever former criminals were not rehabilitated and reintegrated in society, they turned back to crime, he said.
Dr Bonnici said the the prime minister in his tweet had given priority to the image of Malta as seen abroad.
This point of view was valid as well, Dr Bonnici said (see video above).
The guests in today's programme were former President George Abela, who headed the Malta Football Association for many years, Jason Azzopardi, shadow minister for home affairs, and Lorraine Spiteri, president of the Confederation of Women's Associations.
Dr Azzopardi said that without in any way reducing the seriousness of rape he agreed with Dr Bonnici on the need to give criminals a second chance. Top international players such as Benzema and Ribery had been found guilty of having had sex with minors but had still been allowed to play. In this case, it was the courts which had allowed Evans out of prison.
Ms Spiteri said Ched Evans had not yet fully served his punishment, having been given a conditional release. She argued that Evans was a prominent footballer and therefore a role model.
GEORGE ABELA - REHABILITATION STARTS WITH ADMITTING ONE'S MISTAKES
Dr Abela said he agreed with giving people a second chance as long as rehabilitation took place. In this case, Evans had not apologised, saying he was innocent. Once he was arguing that he was innocent, then he should await the final outcome (of the criminal cases review tribunal). So far he had been found guilty. This case had a massive social impact and therefore one should be careful. The first step in the rehabilitation process was to admit one's mistake, after which one could be given a second chance. But Evans had not reached this stage as he was insisting he was innocent.
Asked what position he would have taken had he still been MFA president, Dr Abela recalled that in the late 1980s the MFA had engaged a British Youth Development Officer. Then it learnt that he was being investigated for certain abuses. Dr Abela said that on the following day, he along with Fr Hillary went to Southampton to hear what this person had to say. The MFA decided it could not take risks when children were involved, and his contract was terminated.
Daniel Bogdanovic, who played with Ched Evans and is a friend of his, said he was sure that Evans had not committed rape. He had admitted to having had sex with the woman who had claimed rape, but it was consensual and this was not a crime. (The woman argued in court that she was drunk and could not have consented).
Dr Azzopardi criticised the prime minister for his tweet saying it showed inconsistency. Last year Dr Muscat had described a man convicted of revenge porn as a 'soldier of steel'. And as far as Malta's reputation was involved, this was a prime minister who had not worried about Malta's image when Maltese passports were sold and push-back of migrants was considered.
Roberta Lepre from Victims Support Group said she believed in giving criminals a second chance, but only after they showed remorse and were rehabilitated, something which had not happened in this case (see video clips above)