What Free Speech? Man Slapped With €3,000 Fine For Saying BirdLife Activists ‘Deserve A Beating’
A man has been slapped with a €3,000 fine for a Facebook comment saying that BirdLife activists “deserve a good beating”.
In a judgement which is sure to raise concerns about whether Maltese law safeguards free speech, the Court of Appeal presided by Judge Natasha Galea Sciberras upheld a conviction.
Police dragged Stephen Micallef to court over a Facebook comment he left under a post by Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri related to an attempt by BirdLife to stop the spring hunting season.
“Well done to FKNK because we would have lost everything otherwise,” Micallef commented. “We often complain and criticise them, but there are so many cowboys out there – how come nobody has given these people a good beating?”
“It’s too much now, they are asking for it. They will then tell you that hunters are stupid, but for how long can you tolerate such garbage?”
Magistrate Ian Farrugia found him guilty of hate speech and slapped him with a €3,000 fine, as well as a six-month prison sentence suspended for three years.
Micallef appealed the judgement but the Court of Appeal confirmed the first court’s ruling.
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