Two men who were injured in a scuffle with a group of young Syrian men said in court today that they had forgiven those who had harmed them

Al Khadur Fadi, 26, Najar Ghyas, 20, Al Maaloul Abdulkhader, 19 and Alghazi Abdallah, 19, all born in Syria and residing at St Paul's Bay, were charged last week over the incident which took place at around 10.30pm on July 3.

Inspector Maurice Curmi, stationed at the Qawra police station, today explained how the police had received a report by a Libyan man who had been hit by a glass when he intervened to stop a group of some 10  foreigners, believed to be Syrians, who were harassing a female customer

The men were allegedly playing a ball game at Bugibba square and one of them tried to remove the lady's chair. Another man, having a coffee with his wife and relatives, had also been slightly injured when he ended up in a scuffle with the Syrians and had likewise filed a police report.

Next morning, three of the alleged wrongdoers had been identified by the police. They had willingly gone to the police station and had confirmed the episode but had insisted that the incident had been instigated by the Libyans (who had reported them). The fourth suspect was identified later through a Facebook photo brought to the notice of investigators by a relative of one of the victims.

One of the Libyan men, Tripoli-born Helmi Abdurav Saleh residing at Bugibba told the court that he “had a problem but now it is OK, I have forgiven them.

Upon being told by the court that proceedings would continue independently of his complaint, the man explained that he had been having a coffee that evening when all of a sudden, someone punched him on the head. He had absolutely nothing to do with this case.

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, sensing the witness’s reluctance, warned him that he could be detained by the court unless he told the whole truth

 “I don’t know. I was hit in the head with a bottle and was dizzy. I woke up in hospital,” insisted the man, prompting the court to question whether the witness was being threatened.

The court noted that the man still bore a scar on the right-hand side of his forehead, visible at a distance of some three metres.

Next on the witness stand was Mabruk Abdul Latif, the other Libyan man who was slightly injured in the argument.

Pointing out that he had a wife and baby, he said that he did not want any trouble and “so I forgive them,” he added, identifying the four Syrians in court.

Magistrate Frendo Dimech explained that although such forgiveness would be taken into consideration by the court, the alleged offence had been committed not only in his regard but against Maltese society at large. For this reason he was bound to tell the whole truth.

The witness explained how he had been at the square with his wife and other relatives, when they were first bothered by the men’s loud singing. Next they began to kick a small toy around, landing it next to his wife’s feet.

The argument allegedly broke out when the witness approached the group to hand back the toy. “Then I was hit in the head and there were bottles flying.”

However, he could not identify the person who had hit him, nonetheless insisting that the four men seated in the dock had been involved in the fracas.

The case continues in November. Inspector Maurice Curmi prosecuted. Lawyer Franco Galea was defence counsel.