The former chief of police, John Rizzo, made a public statement in mid-March that escaped the attention of many. In a country where governance has not been corrupted and where the rule of law prevails, it would have forced the minister responsible for the police, if not the Prime Minister himself, to immediately give a detailed explanation in Parliament… and, possibly, caused a few heads to roll too.
In an interview with il-mument, Mr Rizzo – replaced as police commissioner soon after Labour was elected to power – spoke about investigations into allegations of bribery involving former European commissioner and ex-Nationalist Cabinet minister John Dalli. Mr Dalli had resigned from the European Commission in mid-October 2012 following an investigation by the European Union’s anti-fraud office into a complaint by a tobacco producer that a Maltese entrepreneur had used his contacts with Mr Dalli to gain advantage from the company in return for seeking to influence a possible future legislative proposal on tobacco products.
The following December, Silvio Zammit, a former canvasser of Mr Dalli, was charged with trading in influence for changes to the EU’s tobacco directive. A witness had testified that Mr Zammit had asked for €60 million to use his services for the lifting of an EU ban on smokeless tobacco. Mr Dalli categorically denied having ever spoken to Mr Zammit about money.
Press reports early the following year said the police planned to arraign Mr Dalli himself but they had to wait as he was taken ill at a Brussels hospital and had produced medical certificates saying he was unable to travel.
Mr Rizzo had been informed by the new Prime Minister he would be replaced as police commissioner shortly after Mr Dalli’s return in April 2013. It may well have been a coincidence but, judging by what Mr Rizzo said in his interview, it does not seem to have been the case.
“We all know what happened in this case. I no longer was commissioner of police. The post was given to Peter Paul Zammit. John Dalli returned after a long time abroad. John Dalli was never arraigned,” Mr Rizzo said.
He declared there were enough reasons to arraign Mr Dalli, adding former police commissioner Michael Cassar, Angelo Gafà, then a senior police officer and now the force’s CEO, and the Attorney General’s Office had all agreed.
Mr Rizzo said the police had not only relied on the evidence compiled by the EU’s anti-fraud agency but carried out their own investigations, “digging up new evidence that continued to strengthen our case”.
The law-abiding public is owed a detailed explanation of why the arraignment was never made.
The man who investigated the case insists there is a case for arraignment. Mr Dalli denies the allegations. In an environment where the rule of law prevails, only a court can settle that.
Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses, once said: “Two things form the bedrock of any open society – freedom of expression and rule of law. If you don’t have those things, you don’t have a free country.”
This government has already corrupted governance and tries to ‘manhandle’ the independent press. Hands off the rule of law.