A handful of DJs were barred from performing at the Earth Festival over the weekend. Photo: Tonio Lombardi

DJs were “humiliated” when the police barred them from performing at the Earth Garden festival last weekend because of previous “minor” drug offences, event organisers say.

Festival coordinators contacted by this newspaper said a “handful” of DJs could have had their rights breached when they were not given the clearance to perform due to misdemeanours in the past.

“This is a major problem. To me it’s disgusting and humiliating. We aren’t talking about traffickers here, for goodness sake. This system of blocking performers because of previous infringements is telling them they might as well stop working once they get caught with some drugs,” one organiser lamented.

The DJs, no more than five, were not allowed to perform by the police after their ID card numbers were checked against a database of offenders.

An artistic manager contacted by this newspaper said the refusal to grant clearance was a regular practice that had also happened under the previous administration.

Nothing changed over the years but, this time, fans and performers took to social media to complain.

An Earth Garden spokesman said the festival coordinators had contacted Justice and Culture Minister Owen Bonnici to look into the matter. “We are in contact with the government to see if they even know this is happening because they might not even know,” the spokesman said.

Earth Garden’s coordinators explained the police had asked for the list weeks before the popular festival but only communicated their decision as to which DJs could not perform three days before the event.

“We were told who could not perform practically on the eve of the festival. When we complained, we were told we could raise the matter in court. This is ridiculous,” the organisers said.

Some of the DJs, they added, had been targeted by the police due to “small” drug possession offences, some of which dated back more than 20 years. Others, they said, had not even committed any offences but had been involved in court proceedings several years ago.

One of the DJs, who preferred not to be named, said he felt discriminated against simply because he was a DJ.

“I was found in simple possession nine years ago. Why should this be hanging over my head? I feel like I have been targeted just because I am a DJ,” he said, adding that he had only been told he could not perform a few hours before he was due to go on stage.

Three of the DJs declined to comment on the matter and are seeking legal advice.

I was found in simple possession nine years ago. Why should this be hanging over my head?

Questions sent to the police remained unanswered at the time of writing.

This is not the first time artists have not been allowed to perform due to drug-related offences.

“We had an event not long ago when a number of performers were not given clearance to perform. Sometimes it’s DJs, sometimes it’s musicians, it depends,” the artistic manager said.

Asked how regular the practice was, he said he would not be surprised if some 80 DJs and assorted performers would not be allowed to participate in different festivals this summer.