Nationalist Party general secretary Paul Borg Olivier is facing a criminal libel case. Photo: Darrin Zammit LupiA magistrate yesterday revoked her earlier decision to issue an arrest warrant for Nationalist Party general secretary Paul Borg Olivier and fine him €70 after finding him in contempt of court for not showing up.
It turned out that Dr Borg Olivier had been in the court house all along and was chasing his lawyer, Joseph Zammit Maempel, in the superior courts when the case was called.
The case is one of criminal libel instituted by Manuel Mallia, now Home Affairs Minister, and former Labour Party candidate David Farrugia Sacco. It was meant to have started at 9am but was called half an hour later.
The libel revolves around allegations made on the PN’s website Maltrightnow.com, which implicated the two lawyers in an oil procurement scandal.
Magistrate Edwina Grima found Dr Borg Olivier in contempt of court after he was called but failed to appear.
Dr Borg Olivier arrived minutes later and the case was heard around an hour after that.
Magistrate Grima revoked the fine and the arrest warrant.
Taking the witness stand, Inspector Vella said he received a criminal complaint from Dr Mallia and Dr Farrugia Sacco about two articles appearing on the website. In a police statement, Dr Borg Olivier had answered all questions, saying that while the site belonged to the PN he did not know who had published the articles, which were a report of a press conference.
The case continues.