WATCH: Repubblika President Won’t Leave Malta Like Manuel Delia Did After Facing Threats
Repubblika’s president Robert Aquilina has said he has no intention of leaving Malta like fellow activist Manuel Delia did, despite facing threats that forced him to seek police protection.
Interviewed on Lovin Daily, Aquilina recounted how he had sought police protection after a PL politician he knows outside of politics urged him to take precautions for his own good.
“I didn’t take much heed at first, but two weeks later I was having a coffee with Manuel [Delia] and I could see that he was worried at the situation he was passing through,” Aquilina said.
“I told him what was happening to me, he said I was wrong not to speak out about it and we decided to file a police report and ask for some kind of protection, the level of which must remain confidential.”
“However, things kept aggravating and Manuel, who rightly decided not to go public about specific threats he received, decided to spend some time overseas. He spoke to me and I offered him my support.”
Delia recently left Malta to take up a temporary paid programme by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom for journalists who face safety risks.
The journalist-activist, who is also Repubblika’s executive officer, said he saw the programme as “an opportunity to draw the heat away from his family”.
Aquilina said that while he has received both anonymous and public threats, he doesn’t feel he can leave the country.
“Everyone has their own circumstances. My roots are firmly planted in Malta, my notarial office is here and I can’t leave.”
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