Gay rights groups have had a mixed reaction to last week’s criminal conviction of former MEP hopeful Cyrus Engerer.
Asked if he shared the Nationalist Party’s view that Mr Engerer should resign or be sacked as chairman of the government consultative LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) council, the head of Aditus Neil Falzon said: “As a human rights organisation upholding and promoting human dignity and justice we do feel that it is incumbent on Mr Engerer and on the competent authorities to take note of the legal and moral weight of the recent judgment.”
Aditus, he said, recommended that “this is done promptly and in the best manner deemed fit, in the interests of upholding and supporting Malta’s judicial processes”.
Malta Gay Rights Movement head Gabi Calleja took a neutral stand on this question: “It is the minister’s prerogative whom to appoint as chair of the LGBT consultative council. We will work with whoever occupies this role in the best interests of LGBTI persons.”
Mr Engerer, 33, was on Thursday found guilty of having stolen and distributing pornographic images of his former boyfriend after their acrimonious break up in December 2009. The judgment overturned a previous ruling in which Mr Engerer had been acquitted because of insufficient proof.
The verdict led to his dropping out of the European Parliament election. But the PN has also called for Mr Engerer to also step down or be sacked from his role as EU funds consultant to the home affairs and civil liberties ministries as well as from the LGBT council – an area he has championed throughout his political career.
The PN has argued that Mr Engerer’s crime was “homophobic in nature” and therefore his position representing this sector is untenable.
Asked to comment on this charge Dr Falzon said: “We do not feel this is relevant to our position since any serious criminal conviction would lead us to question the position of the relevant government interlocutor.”
MGRM, however, disagreed with the PN’s logic, arguing that an act should be not be considered homophobic simply because it was directed at a gay person but specifically because of sexual orientation.
“Our understanding of the case is that Cyrus Engerer has been convicted of an act towards his ex-boyfriend, not because he had a problem with the fact that his ex-partner was gay but because of their personal relationship... So, one may classify such an act as one of revenge but to call it homophobic is a misnomer.”