Two Men Fined €100 For Anti-Trans Hate Speech Against Former PN Candidate Angela Coleiro
Two Maltese men have been fined €100 each after a court found them guilty of anti-trans hate speech against a former Nationalist Party candidate.
Angela Coleiro had reported the two men to the Hate Crime and Hate Speech Unit last year after they published Facebook posts that referred to her by her former male identity. After feeling disappointed at the Unit’s lack of action, she later filed a police report.
Although several people commented under these two posts, she decided to limit her report to the original posters.
On Tuesday, the two men pleaded guilty, issued a public apology to Coleiro, and were fined €100 each by Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace.
Coleiro told Lovin Malta that she feel a sense of satisfaction with the outcome of the case.
“I’m a strong person but I suffered a lot because of this,” she said. “It happened back in June 2020 and the case has been at the back of my mind since then.”
However, she said that while she appreciates the magistrate’s decision, she feels the €100 fines were too small given the suffering she went through as a result of those posts.
“I’ve forgiven these two men but I wanted to prove a point,” she said. “I think insults on social media are getting out of hand and I wanted to take a stand.”
Coleiro had become the first-ever trans woman to contest a Maltese general election but she withdrew from the race a month after she was confirmed as a PN candidate due to “personal reasons”.
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