Muffled screams filled a court room yesterday when a magistrate heard a recorded telephone call made to emergency number 112 by a woman who was allegedly witnessing her boyfriend being beaten by the police.
The 11-second recording, played several times, contained what sounded like muffled screeching and shouting before the line went dead.
“That was me screaming: ‘why are you doing that, you’re going to kill him’,” Jasione Vassallo told Magistrate Carol Peralta. She testified that when she saw two rapid intervention unit officers beat her boyfriend she called 112 but did not get through.
Police Inspector Ramon Mercieca, prosecuting, said he looked into the matter and her call had been recorded. He said that when a person dialled 112 the system automatically recorded the call. Sometimes callers got the impression they did not get through because they would not hear anybody on the other end, he said.
Ms Vassallo was testifying in the case against RIU officers Mark Tonna and David Camilleri who are pleading not guilty to beating Jean Paul Aquilina in Mġarr on May 3 at about 1am.
Mr Aquilina himself has been charged with assaulting the two officers.
Ms Vassallo said they were at a family barbecue in Mġarr and, at about 1am, she and Mr Aquilina left. A police car signalled them to stop and they pulled over near a bus stop. The officers claimed Mr Aquilina was swerving but he insisted he was driving normally, she said.
I know the truth and we will soon all know it
The officers then asked him to step out of the car, which he did. She said Mr Aquilina was talking to Mr Tonna as she stood by their car and Mr Camilleri circled it and walked in a “macho” way. Mr Tonna then went into the police car. Ms Vassallo said she saw Mr Camilleri walk towards her boyfriend from behind, grab him by the neck, push him to the ground and punch him in the eye.
In an emotional testimony, during which she was cautioned that action could be taken against her for perjury, she insisted she was telling the truth.
“I can’t understand what happened. I’d love to know why,” she said as she was handed a glass of water.
She said Mr Tonna got out of the police car and held Mr Aquilina down while Mr Camilleri punched and kicked him. She tried to pull Mr Camilleri away but did not manage. Then she dialled 112 and called her father.
“At one point, Jean was face down with his face against the tarmac and had a shoe on his face. David’s shoe,” she said.
The officers, the witness continued, then pulled him up and placed him against his car, breaking the mirror. They took him to the pavement and continued beating him, she said, adding that they only stopped when more police officers arrived.
Cross examined by lawyer Tonio Azzopardi, for Mr Camilleri, she insisted her boyfriend had done nothing to provoke the violence.
Asked if she was twisting the truth to defend him she replied: “If you want to call me a liar, say what you want. I know the truth and we will soon all know the truth.”
The lawyer asked her whether she feared her boyfriend.
“I love him with all my heart and I’m not scared of him. What sort of question is that,” she replied.
Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi represented Mr Tonna. Lawyer Mario de Marco appeared parte civile.