The man who was seen making a nazi salute at the anti-immigration protest held in June will be charged in court, police confirmed today.

Last month, a counter-protest was held during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Valletta, with chants of anti-immigration rhetoric in which one man was recorded making the gesture.

Enticing violence or hurling abuse on the basis of race, colour, religion, ethnicity is punishable by the law of up to eight months to two years imprisonment. It is also against Maltese law to publicly condone crimes against humanity or acts of genocide.

Malta’s Hate Crime and Speech Unit has been flooded with reports this year, with 185 cases submitted so far, and a considerable spike following the Black Lives Matter protest. 

Only around 5% were flagged for police to investigate.

Malta has some of the highest amounts of online hate speech in the EU, with a 2018 Eurobarometer reporting more than half (55%) of Maltese saying that hate speech was the illegal content they were most likely to encounter accidentally online.

Black Lives Matter became a global phenomenon against police brutality following the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota. 

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