At least 20 people who were facing charges in court for using threatening language against a Mellieħa restaurant owner and defaming her have been found not guilty and let free.

“The Apple’s Eye Restaurant in Golden Bay, today lost its criminal court case against animal lovers,” Animal Guardians Malta, an animal rights group, said on Facebook after the case ended.

“All the animal lovers who posted angry Facebook comments against the man who brutally murdered the kitten in front of everyone were liberated from all criminal accusations,” they continued.

The defendants were hauled to court following an incident that left a kitten dead in the Mellieħa restaurant last year. An eye witness alleged that the kitten had been killed by an old man using a rock, claiming that he was the father of the owner of the restaurant.

Following perceived police inaction on the case, many angry animal lovers took to Facebook to threaten the owners of the restaurant, with the owner telling Lovin Malta that she had received death threats following the “false” story.

Alison Bezzina, a prominent animal rights activist, opened up about the sensitive case

“Remember the kitten that was killed in Golden Bay last August?
Remember how shocked we were to find out that the Police had not identified or charged a suspect?
Remember how even more shocked we were when we found out that instead of trying to identify the suspect, the Police were pressing charges against some very hurt and angry people who commented on Facebook?” she asked.

“Well, yesterday the cases of those commentators were heard in court. Their ‘crimes’ were heard and tried in a criminal courtroom in front of a criminal Magistrate, and thankfully they were all found not guilty,” she said.

“But hold your horses, because whilst this might sound like good news, it’s not entirely so. You see, the only reasons that this was possible was because the police got it wrong, very wrong in fact,” she continued.

“And the owners of the restaurant, whom I can only assume are now up in arms with anger, can still file a civil case against the commentators, and the damages there can reach thousands of Euro. I’ve personally lost hope that the police will pursue the real perpetrator of this crime so let’s just hope that common sense prevails. Whilst I understand everyone’s anger and pain, there are other more effective remedies that can be sought, other than getting sued for defamation on Facebook,” she ended.

Below you can find the original accusation as posted in RUBS

And here is the Apple’s Eye owner’s response

What do you think of this case?

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Johnathan Cilia

Johnathan is an award-winning Maltese journalist interested in social justice, politics, minority issues, music and food. Follow him at @supreofficialmt on Instagram, and send him news, food and music stories at [email protected]