A court today asked presenter Lou Bondi to confirm testimony he had given in a libel case with a solemn declaration after lawyer Toni Abela raised questions on how a declared atheist could swear on the crucifix when testifying.

The libel case was instituted by Mr Bondi against Wenzu Mintoff as editor of the Labour weekly KullHadd.

Dr Abela had asked if the testimony was admissible given the manner how Mr Bondi' had testified.

The court said that it had two options before it - Mr Bondi could either given his testimony once more, or he could confirm his testimony through a declaration,

Since the latter was more practical it was asking Mr Bondi to take that option.

When the issue was raised, in October, Lawyer Anthony Cremona, for Mr Bondì, said taking an oath by swearing on the cross was acceptable and the cross did not only represent religious principles outside a place of worship but also important secular values.

In rebuttal, Dr Abela said his issue centred on procedural matters and not on religion because Mr Bondì was free to believe what he wanted. He argued that he was not accusing Mr Bondì of lying under oath. “I am saying the opposite. I believe that when he testified, he testified correctly according to how he feels,” Dr Abela said.

Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna and Dr Cremona asked Dr Abela why he was raising the point in the first place if he believed Mr Bondì had testified correctly. Dr Abela replied that the credibility of the witness was intrinsically linked to what the witness believed in.