A convicted murderer recently slapped with a suspended sentence for threatening to kill Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, helped in the Independence Day celebrations, angering the backbencher.
In fact, Dr Pullicino Orlando refused to attend Tuesday’s mass meeting and asked his party for an explanation.
Dr Pullicino Orlando confirmed to The Times that he had not attended in protest. The event was otherwise well attended by the parliamentary group. (Nationalist MP Jesmond Mugliett was also absent but could not be reached yesterday.)
Dr Pullicino Orlando said he was invited to deliver a speech on Sunday as part of the PN’s activities and “was glad to do so”.
But on Monday he got to know that Charlie Mangion, known as Iż-Żubina, was involved in this year’s activities.
“Mr Mangion was recently given a six-month jail term suspended for 18 months and fined for threatening to harm me and others involved in the pro-divorce movement,” Dr Pullicino Orlando pointed out.
Since he felt involving Mr Mangion in the organisation of the activities was “highly inappropriate”, Dr Pullicino Orlando informed Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who, he said, was obviously unaware of what had happened.
“(Dr Gonzi) forwarded an e-mail I sent him about the subject to (PN general secretary) Paul Borg Olivier. To date I have not heard anything from the latter,” the MP said.
“In these circumstances I felt uncomfortable attending what has been, to me, a highly anticipated annual event for well over 30 years.”
A spokesman for the PN said: “Mr Mangion’s involvement with others was limitedly related to identifying għana singers, which is a restricted and niche sector.”
Singers were required for some local folklore activities organised by one of the party’s sections.
“In no way does this limited participation change the strong stand against his actions committed against Dr Pullicino Orlando, publicly condemned by the PN,” the spokesman added.
Mr Mangion was charged in July, together with Guiseppe Cutajar, for making threatening comments on their Facebook pages against Dr Pullicino Orlando and now Labour prospective candidate Deborah Schembri, who headed the divorce movement. He received a six-month jail term suspended for 18 months.
Mr Mangion’s run-ins with the law go back to the early 1970s. On December 18, 1975, when he was 21, he was jailed for 14 years after he was found guilty in a trial by jury of murdering 17-year-old Spaniard Josè Luis Monroy Garcia.
He was earlier found guilty of the attempted murder of another Spaniard, Ricardo Yague Llorente, 27, in St Dominic Street, Valletta in the early hours of the morning.
Mr Garcia, a student working as a seaman on the tanker Lord Mount Stephen, was found in Merchants Street corner with St Dominic Street in a pool of blood with three stab wounds to the chest. His colleague, Mr Llorente, was found nearby, wounded and crying out for help.
The victims had been drinking in Strait Street.