Watch: Police Stopped Investigating Pro-Choice Activists As Soon As Robert Abela Stepped In, ABBA Leader Warns
Police stopped investigating pro-choice activists as soon as Prime Minister Robert Abela voiced his anger that they had been reported, ABBA leader Ivan Grech Mintoff has claimed.
“The day after we reported them to the police, the Prime Minister decided to attack us because we did his job for him… we spotted a potential crime and reported it. Wonder of wonders, the police immediately stopped [investigating],” Grech Mintoff said during a debate on TVM’s Popolin last night.
Back in March, ABBA filed a police report calling for criminal investigations into 18 pro-choice organisations and activists, including several doctors, the Women’s Rights Foundation and the Family Planning Advisory Service.
The party said it reported the activists to the police to establish if they have been breaking Malta’s laws against abortion, which are among the strictest in the world. However, they didn’t publicly cite what laws they reported the activists for breaching.
During an election rally organised by the PL youth section the next day, Abela said he was “angry” when he found out about the police report.
“Many discussions start with the courage to think freely and I was so angry when I saw a political party [ABBA] continue the attitude it embarked on in the University debate by reporting a number of activists and academics to the police simply because they’re pro-choice,” Abela said.
Abela warned that ABBA reported the pro-choice activists to the police to scare them.
“Let’s not be a society that accepts this. We want to remain a reformist society that isn’t afraid to speak their mind and I can see this manifested in you youths,” he said.
Ivan Grech Mintoff (left) flashes a copy of ABBA's police report during a Popolin debate last night
During the Popolin debate, Grech Mintoff flashed a copy of ABBA’s report and said he still expects the police to take action.
“When you hear that a robbery has taken place, you ask the police to investigate. We have clear proof that these organisations have committed crimes and we want the police to investigate.”
Asked what the crimes are, the ABBA leader responded that he wants the police to do their job but that he wouldn’t have spoken publicly on TV if he wasn’t convinced of the evidence in his possession.
Turning to pro-choice activist Lara Dimitrijevic, who was part of the debate panel and whose name was included in ABBA’s report, Grech Mintoff said that she “can get offended as much as she pleases but no one is above the law”.
“If I suspect that a crime has been committed, I have an obligation to report it to the police. I now expect no one, from the Prime Minister downwards, to stop the police from doing their duty. If they stop them again, we are ready to challenge the police in court too.”
Cover photo: Left: ABBA leader Ivan Grech Mintoff, Right: Prime Minister Robert Abela
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