Nationalist MEP Francis Zammit Dimech has been awarded €2,000 in libel damages after a court found against former Prime Minister Alfred Sant following an interview with The Sunday Times of Malta dating back to the eve of the 2008 general election.

The interview was published under the heading “The only way is us.”

Dr Sant had made claims about Dr Zammit Dimech which a court found were libellous.

Dr Sant had claimed in the interview that part of the kickbacks from the MTV concert contracts went into Dr Zammit Dimech's campaign. Asked for the evidence, the then Opposition leader had replied: "It’s not evidence. It’s something that people know."

When Dr Zammit Dimech instituted the court proceedings, Dr Sant argued that his comments amounted to fair comment in the public interest and political criticism of public administration. 

But in its considerations, the court said that a comment could only be considered fair and in the public interest if it was substantially based on the truth. 

In the absence of evidence to back up the alleged facts such comments were libellous, even if made in a political context close to a general election.