Labour MP Etienne Grech said he would like to see the back of criminal libel but only if damages for civil libel are increased.

In a post on Facebook, Dr Grech, no stranger to controversy, said the damages should also incorporate articles which regulate hate speech. He said he would be making his point among his colleagues in the Labour parliamentary group.

Dr Grech's post accompanied a timesofmalta.com story quoting blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia saying that journalists should stop attacking their peers.

The Labour MP's Facebook posts have frequently been the source of ridicule on Ms Caruana Galizia's blog.

Last Thursday, Magistrate Francesco Depasquale made an attempt to force the abolition of criminal libel in Malta, which has laws promoting freedom of expression but then gives people to possibility to criminally sue someone for libel, which carries an effective prison term.

 

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