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Speaking in Statements: Keith Schembri Issues Seven-Point Reply After Refusing To Testify In Corruption Libel Case

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The Prime Minister’s Cheif of Staff Keith Schembri has issued a seven-point reply defending his decision to refuse to testify in a libel suit he called himself.

The libel case concerned former PN Leader Simon Busuttil’s claims that Schembri was corrupt during a speech on 2016.

In the statement, Schembri insisted that the case had nothing to do with 17 Black. However, he was expected to face questions over the issue during his cross-examination.

Schembri insisted that in October 2017, Busuttil even said that he was not involved in anything negative.

Schembri then detailed the anonymous third party request for Magistrate Victor Axiaq to recuse himself after he was found to have offered legal services to both Schembri and Nexia BT.

Busuttil actually had no issue with the revelation, rather it was Schembri, who said he did so to make sure justice was served without a shadow of a doubt.

Axiaq would also turn down other requests for Schembri to not testify, ordering him to do so. However, he instead issued simple statements, like:

“I have advice from lawyers not to answer any questions linked to ongoing inquiries”.

He stood by his decision in his statement, insisting that it would have prejudiced his rights while a number of magisterial inquiries are underway for a myriad of allegations against Schembri.

However, he closed his statement by saying that he had “already answered these questions during an inquiry”.

READ NEXT: Speaking in Statements: Keith Schembri Issues Seven-Point Reply After Refusing To Testify In Corruption Libel Case

Julian is the former editor of Lovin Malta and has a particular interest in politics, the environment, social issues, and human interest stories.

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