Leader of the Għaqda Patrijotti Maltin Alex Pisani turned up late to a court sitting against Brikkuni frontman Mario Vella, prompting Magistrate Joe Mifsud to quip that he must have been busy eating a pork sandwich.

Magistrate Mifsud heard how the police’s Cyber Crime Unit had received an e-mail from Mr Pisani on September 21 about a Facebook post where Mr Vella allegedly made defamatory remarks towards Mr Pisani and allegedly “threatened” to throw Molotov cocktails at the “patriots”.

The court threw out the case and acquitted Mr Vella because such proceedings required a criminal complaint being filed by a lawyer under the Press Act and not a report to the Cyber Crime Unit.

On Sunday, Mr Pisani and his supporters distributed pork sandwiches during a protest against Muslims praying in the open air, claiming that St Paul’s Bay primary school children who took pork sandwiches to school were being intimidated.

The allegation was strongly rebutted by Education Minister Evarist Bartolo, who denounced it as a complete fabrication and stressed that there was no ban or restriction on the consumption of meat at the school due to anyone’s religious beliefs.