Updated 1.50pm - A 17-year old boy was today handed a suspended sentence for having, through Facebook, threatened outgoing Democratic Party leader Marlene Farrugia.
He was also warned by a Magistrates’ Court to ‘stop and think’ before writing.
The slight-built teen sat nervously in the dock while a number of relatives lined up at the back of the courtroom.
Lawyer Joseph Giglio appearing for Dr Farrugia, who was not present for the hearing, explained that his client had long been at the receiving end of threats.
However, in the light of current circumstances, she felt that this time she had to take action.
Such comments should not be seen in a vacuum, the lawyer continued. “We should see the negative impact which the comments might cause. Although Facebook users might not mean what they say, third party readers might interpret them otherwise,” Dr Giglio stressed, pointing out that the young man had later apologized to Dr Farrugia.
Defence lawyer Franco Debono said that the court should apply “a punishment fitting the crime,” also bearing in mind that the wrongdoer was a student, had immediately acknowledged his mistake, apologized to Marlene Farrugia and repeated his apology in court today.
Before talking or writing anything, people must stop and think- Magistrate
“Before talking or writing anything, people must stop and think,” Magistrate Doreen Clarke said.
The boy was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment suspended for three years and warned not to approach Marlene Farrugia.
Dr Farrugia has complained about several serious threats being made against her.
One of the cases happened a few hours after the brutal killing of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, when the MP denounced the murder on Facebook.
A defiant Dr Farrugia said she was not afraid of the perpetrators of this crime and would continue Ms Caruana Galizia’s fight in favour of what was right.
Using disparaging terms, a man then threatened Dr Farrugia that she could be next, possibly facing the same fate as Ms Caruana Galizia.
Dr Farrugia fired back, saying that despite having been on the receiving end of various threats for the last four years, she would not allow herself to be scared by “spineless cowards”.
Her partner, Godfrey Farrugia, however, did not take the words lightly, and yesterday said he intended to seek redress by filing a police report. He said on Facebook the last time he had sought their support, he had been given the cold shoulder.
Contacted by the Times of Malta, he clarified that the police had failed to take action, as Marlene Farrugia had refused to hand over her mobile device, fearing that confidential information would end up in the wrong hands.
“This time around, however, I was invited to visit the cybercrime unit, where I was shown the procedure to follow in such cases, so I would not be required to hand over the device,” he said.
Nonetheless, Dr Farrugia said that in the wake of Monday’s attack, he had also requested police security, even though this would interfere with the couple’s daily lives.