A number of lawyers have issued a statement insisting that they may opt not to attend sittings at the Gozo court unless security measures are put in place.

The statement was issued on the initiative of lawyer and Labour MP Justyne Caruana after yesterday's stabbing of a man inside the courtroom. A lawyer was also injured.

The lawyers expressed their solidarity with the Magistrate, the injured parties and the staff. 

They pointed out that appeals for better security at the Gozo court had been made for years. Those appeals were intensified when, eight years ago, a lawyer, Dr Michael Grech, tragically lost his life (although that case was not in the law courts building).

It was particularly shocking, the lawyers said, that a man had now been  stabbed and grievously injured within the court building itself.

The lawyers called for the presence of security officers, a metal detector and scanning equipment, insisting that the presence of a single policeman was simply insufficient. 

"The authorities need to assume their responsibilities to address the current unacceptable situation," the lawyers said. 

The statement was signed by Justyne Caruana, Carmelo Galea, Grazio Mercieca, Kevin Mompalao, Jean Paul Grech, Damian Bigeni, Georgine Schembri, Simone Grech, Deborah Mercieca, Joshua Grech, Monica Vella and Alfred Grech.