Maltese Man Who Was Fined €10,000 Over A Joke Has Penalty Slashed To €1,000
A Maltese man who was slapped with a €10,000 fine for posting a meme in a private Facebook group will only have to pay €1,000 after partially winning an appeal.
Luke Mihalic was last year handed a hefty €10,000 fine by Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace over a joke he made in a private Facebook group called ‘Uncensored Jokes Malta’, posting an image with a dark-humoured play on words involving Down Syndrome.
The meme featured an image of an unidentified person with Down Syndrome in front of a computer accompanied by a caption that read: “Website is Down”, “Oh, me too”.
Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa
Then Disabilities Commissioner Oliver Scicluna got wind of the meme and reported it to the police, who promptly summoned Mihalic and informed him he was going to be charged.
“This is just some dark humour… I have no problem with anyone and I would never ever make fun of anyone… it was just a small play on words,” he had told Lovin Malta.
@lovinmaltaofficialIs €10,000 for a “joke” on Facebook excessive? 🧐 After Prime Minister Robert Abela said it was, Lovin Malta’s @timdiacono doorsteps Inclusion Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli to get her thoughts on how far the law should go 🎤♬ original sound – Lovin Malta
Despite the chilling effect of this sentence on free speech, Inclusion Minister Julia Farrugia welcomed the judgment and said that “justice has been served”.
Questioned by Lovin Malta, she insisted that “no person with a disability should be denigrated”.
However, Prime Minister Robert Abela said the fine was excessive.
Judge Edwina Grima condemned Mihalic’s comment but ruled that the €10,000 fine was excessive as he didn’t try to endanger people with disability. She also took into account the fact that Mihalic regretted the joke and that the Facebook group has been deleted.
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