Two other people who face prosecution and a civil suit
Elaine Meli and Roderick Micallef – if you come across any other people linking to libel on the Law Commmissioner’s blog, please email internet links or screen-shots to [email protected] so that I may take the appropriate measures under civil law, the Criminal Code and the Electronic Communications Regulation Act. Thank you.
The way these people equate what I write here with the outright insane libel on the Law Commissioner’s blog is indicative of the very same lack of intelligence/information/analytical skills which inform many of their other choices, including voting.
The same goes for their appalling failure to distinguish between the different roles of politician and journalist, and their equation of the two. Even when strictly within the limits of the law, with mockery rather than slander and libel, it is the role of satirical journalists to mock politicians, but it is not the role of politicians to mock journalists, still less launch a full-on onslaught against individuals in retaliation for that mockery.
Mockery by journalists of politicians is a key component of western democracy. Attacks by politicians, or any other public officials or key government figures, on the journalists who mock them are anti-democratic.
Former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi is one of the few who understood/understands this, though those who besieged him – and they include not just Franco Debono and Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando but some more surprising individuals – to tick me off in public for exercising my democratic right (obligation, actually) to criticise and mock politicians do not understand it at all. They are Chinese Red Guards in spirit, and would be Chinese Red Guards in practice given half a chance.
Malta is impossibly backward in understanding these matters which more sophisticated societies take as read.
26 Comments Comment
Leave a Comment
Daphne, If you go to the FB group ‘We Want Justice Petition Against Daphne Caruana Galizia’ there is the post linked, with 42 shares, most of them don’t appear because of privacy settings but around 10 or so do.
The amount of ignorance which exists on this little rock makes one weep with frustration.
“where but to think is to be full of sorrow
And leaden eyed despairs” – Ode to a Nightingale
Reading the comments in Franco Debono’s blog makes you sick. They call you all sort of names and I can assure you that they don’t read the contents in your article. They only see the title and maybe a picture and nothing else.
I admire you Daphne for standing up for your rights and being a role model for those of us who does not have the courage to do the same.
What if someone posts a link to libellous material in order to set the facts straight or point out that the stuff is libellous.
[Daphne – That is a different situation as the comment ‘undoes’ the link. But then you would need to prove that you were genuine in doing so and not disingenuous.]
It’s just that some of us sail very close to the wind here and a little primer on what constitutes libel would be very useful.
[Daphne – That’s why moderation exists, because some of you can’t be trusted/don’t know the law. Also, you are anonymous.]
Daphne is mistaken here. Minimally, the presumption of innocence applies but there are other principles at stake as well.
[Daphne – Not in libel suits, no. It is the reverse of what usually happens. It is the person in the dock who has to make the case for his innocence rather than the other party making the case for his guilt. Whether this is right or wrong is not the issue here.]
The question wasn’t about the author or distributor of the libellous content but about a person posting a link leading to libellous material.
This is different.
I think Elaine Meli has now removed that post from her FB – chickening out as well?
[Daphne – No, just plain ignorance. They think you can say anything about anyone without basing it on facts and regardless of what that person’s role is. They also think, because they have been led to believe this by their political party, that the law does not apply to me, in the sense that they may freely abuse me without legal consequences to them.]
Exactly!
Also Daphne, I just noticed on FB that there are profiles in your name. Are they truly yours?
[Daphne – I think even the most cursory look at them will reveal that they aren’t.]
So they should be deleted….blocked/reported.
[Daphne – Difficult. How do you prove to Facebook that there is only one person with my name?]
I should always try.
You can easily report fake profiles, but you would need your own profile or a page. You can create one and make it as public / private as you want. The privacy settings are rather detailed, only a moron (or a naive person) would leave them as is.
These two fools have just made your case against Frankie stronger.
A quick search using Facebook’s own online search tool, set for public posts, gives additional posts shared by a number of individuals:
http://www.anony.ws/i/2013/08/20/Bceoa.png
Search link:
https://www.facebook.com/search/results.php?q=www.francodebono.com&type=eposts&init=quick&tas=0.9988028651569039
Franco Debono has been promoting this lawyer’s articles on his blog.
Would ‘liking’ a libellous comment or article on Facebook constitute a crime?
[Daphne – I have no idea.]
“Liking” on Facebook automatically shares the content with all your “Friends”, so I would guess a case could be made. However, I’m no legal expert.
That would be beyond impractical.
Of course not.
A question of interpretation it seems :
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/us/clicking-like-on-facebook-is-not-protected-speech-judge-rules.html?_r=0
That is something completely different from your question. In fact it’s the reverse. Besides that is US Law….different jurisdiction.
Quite certain that wouldn’t be the case.
It would open up a whole new can of worms, in any event.
In his hysteria, Franco Debono has also attacked Stephen Spiteri and some comments regarding Spiteri’s professional behaviour as a doctor are probably libellous too.
Where is the Prime Minister? I think that Franco Debono’s government appointments should be withdrawn. Any person holding positions such as Law Commissioner and Co-ordinator of the Constitution Convention, should refrain from passing certain comments. S/he should be beyond reproach.
The prime minister – like a child with a new toy- is enjoying being one – a PM I mean – not a child, although he still thinks of himself as a youngster. . He gets a buzz each time he goes up and down the steps of Castille Palace.
Feels elated at how powerful he is now and looks down benignly at his ministers and their cohorts as they frolic in their “playrooms”, without the least care about what all this will mean to the rest of the population.
And then he used to call the very honourable Dr.Lawrence Gonzi arrogant!