UPDATED: I hope the newspapers follow this one up, and keep up the pressure to have these two officers sacked or demoted
These two police officers have committed very serious abuse, and the fact that they do not even seem to be aware that they cannot violate the rights of others for whatever reason, let alone to exact personal revenge, is the most worrying aspect of all.
In addition, Times of Malta reports that while the young women were being held under arrest and strip-searched, they were told to bend over and had their ‘body cavities’ searched.
How ghastly.
I was a police victim in a case very similar to that of these two young women, a few years ago. The sergeant major involved had brought out practically the entire staff complement of the Spinola police station to testify against me on the very same charges brought against these two Swedish women.
My crime? I had gone to the station to challenge the fact that I had been given a ticket while parked at 11am beneath a sign a few metres away from the station which said that parking was allowed before ’12:00′, and to point out that it was obvious it had been given to me deliberately and abusively. Either that, or I was to assume that the police officer who gave me the ticket does not know that midnight is 00:00 and not 12:00.
Next thing I knew, I had a policeman at my gate with a summons to the criminal court and a whole list of charges that made me sound like Tony Montana minus the submachine gun.
A couple of the police officers had the decency not to lie (though they didn’t say the truth, either), but the others lied blatantly under oath and one of them – a real idiot – brought the whole thing down when, after committing perjury, she turned to the ‘sergeant major’ and said to him, within ear-shot of the entire courtroom: “Hux hekk ghidtli biex nghid, Maggur?”
And that was the end of that, as far as the magistrate was concerned. He threw out the case there and then – but here’s the thing: he did not call for action to be taken against those police officers and their superior, as Magistrate Micallef Trigona has done here.
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The Malta Independent reports today:
Magistrate Tonio Micallef Trigona today blasted two police officers for their “disgusting” behaviour after they arrested and strip-searched two Swedish women who were celebrating Chile’s victory against Spain on 18 June in St Julian’s.
(…)
Mina Teharni and Andrea Maturana were holding a cloth flag, which the court noted was “bereft of a stick,” from both ends when it brushed a police sergeant major’s face.
They were arraigned under arrest for having “vilified, threatened and caused bodily harm against public officers, as well as having assaulted or resisted those same public officers.”
The Sergeant Major testified that the flag “brushed his face forcing him to bend his head backwards.” He grabbed the flag from the accused, who then allegedly touched the peak of his cap and said, “why you act so stupid, a**hole.”
Another officer wrested Tehrani to the ground and handcuffed her.
The Magistrate told the prosecution that the two officers involved in the incident are not fit to wear their uniforms, and should be made to sweep the streets.
The Magistrate said that there were some “material inconsistencies in the testimony of the police officers.”
Both of the women were acquitted and handed back their passports.
Magistrate Trigona said that action should be taken against the two officers involved.
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http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-07-04/news/two-chilean-fans-arrested-strip-searched-for-brushing-officers-face-with-a-flag-5716377600/
The Malta Independent does not name the police officer, it refers to him as sergeant major. Why did the journalist not try to get his name? That is a lousy court report.
Daphne, when you were targeted, what happened to the sergeant major?
[Daphne – Nothing, of course. Unlike Swedish tourists, I’m considered fair game for police abuse, along with African immigrants.]
Well that makes me support and admire you even more, Daphne. Your fearless and untiring expression of the truth in the hostile environment of this screwed up, chauvinistic, omerta-riddled country is an inspiration to us all.
Let the fuckers do their worst – their abuse turns back to bite them in the ass and causes even more decent people to rally around you in indignation.
I believe this is the same Sergeant Major who was transferred to Gozo as it was his turn, but then on the same day he was transferred back to Malta and the second in line Sergeant Major, a PL supporter, was transferred to Gozo instead.
Great PR for tourism in Malta courtsy of Manwel Mallia’s Police force!
When I read the headline I honestly thought it happened in Brazil and didn’t bother reading the rest of it. Unfortunately it seems that in Malta power tends to go to people’s heads very quickly.
Well once the Police were never kept in check during the reign of Sleeping Beauty Mifsud Bonnici that’s what you get.
This reminds me of the time when Sliema local councillors were strip-searched during arrest for no reason at all and how this was condemned by the majority of Malta’s criminal lawyers.
Did anything happen then? No.
The then Police Commissioner gave a very flimsy excuse but the perpetrators got away scot-free.
Why everytime something happen you have to mention the previous administration . Somebody about 20mths ago said that they have a ROAD MAP for everything , but now were are we? Is the law commisioner going to ask for the resignation of the minister this time or he is now happy with the present situation .
It’s about time these people start being held responsible for their actions.
The police have a duty to uphold the law without being held back but when they are caught abusing of their position by illegally arresting people, harassing and lying then the full weight of the law should be used against them.
Harassment, abuse and illegal arrest should be treated as committing a crime that they are duty bound to prevent.
False charges and lying in court should be treated the same as filing a false police report for the former and perjury for the latter.
The same treatment should apply to wardens who fine people when they have no grounds to do so.
Unless public officers are held liable for their actions there will always be ones who will be ready to take a chance and abuse of their positions knowing full well that they will not be held accountable.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140704/local/updated-minister-orders-investigation-as-magistrate-calls-for-disciplinary-action-against-police-who-dishonoured-force.526332
Neither sacked nor demoted.
They should be transferred to the skip denominated office of the coordinator of security for national events.
They are blatantly unfit for purpose in the police force.
Not to worry. We’ll just produce a few more “Come to Malta is very nice” videos.
From experience I must say that the St.Julian’s police station is the worst on the island run by bullies who feel that they are God.
This is a “change” that Muscat won’t implement because the intent is a retrograde step to police methods of the 70s and 80s MLP “days of glory”.
The MLP is not interested in having a credible Malta Police Force that would be the pride of the citizenry. It only wants one that is subservient to the party dictates. In recompense members who are unfit for purpose are given a free rein to abuse police powers in all directions and with impunity.
Why do you have to involve politics in this. It is a known fact that they don’t employ the smartest of cats in the police force.
It’s very simple, Marie.
It’s not necessarily how smart the cats were/are, it is how they are trained and disciplined.
I may be a bit older than you, maybe quite a bit, and I remember the days when if one went to a police station to complain about someone, the sergeant would ask you to write your name down on the report sheet and the name of the person you were complaining about, memorize your complaint and when someone was available and literate enough, he would write out the complaint for him.
If someone is complaining about Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici who, may I remind you, had a serious health problem during the time he was in charge of the police force, then how do you expect that Manwel Mallia would not be criticized?
What you should be asking is why, all of a sudden, these incidents have become more frequent? One of the first was the abuse of power by Peter Paul Zammit himself, freshly appointed Commissioner of Police and proceeding against a passport control officer at the airport who was falsely accused of (not) taking a picture of Manuel Mallia’s communications coordinator and Joseph Muscat’s spokesman.
The Commissioner of Police himself conducted the defence on behalf of the police and got a major dressing-down from the magistrate who ruled that the police ‘conducted their investigation in a most unprofessional manner with a clear abuse of its powers’.
Francis Saliba
‘The MLP is not interested in having a credible Malta Police Force’, nor did the PN. Karm Mifsud Bonnici was useless and gutless as minister in charge of the police.
You remember the death of Nicholas Azzopardi following police custody and ‘escape’? This was under the PN.
I hope these two ladies now sue for wrongful arrest and indecent assault at the very least.
And maybe get compensation in 7 years time
They should and they can add discrimination as well.
No strip-searches and body-cavity investigations for Chinese women?
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140705/local/Chinese-pair-hit-officers.526364
A Chinese pair of what, incidentally – vases?
The magistrates said that the hopes these two Chinese teachers were not arraigned under circumstances similar to those of the Swedish women. He repeated that certain police officers should be removed from the force.
Make them Chief and Deputy.
“He grabbed the flag from the accused”. Disrespect to the national flag of another country would elicit the kind of comments the accused made to the policeman. He was asking for it, wasn’t he?
If I were to manhandle an American flag in front of an American citizen I would be asking for trouble.
Is the strip search and cavity search option run on a free for all basis?
What are the rights of a person under arrest in these circumstances?
You have right to refuse and be taken to hospital and x-rayed. Cavity searches are physically intrusive and should be done by a medical professional. You can refuse it, it is your right. I know because I did.
I hope that serious action will be taken against those involved.
Shame on the woman officer who cooperated with this abuse.
It seems that the only thing they didn’t warn tourists about in the police video, was about the Malta Police themselves.
I, like many others, have experienced ill treatment at the hands of the Malta police.
For defendants and those who follow court cases where the police are involved, they will know that police officers commit perjury when giving witness. This is an open secret and despite it being a criminal offence no judiciary takes steps to hold accountable those committing perjury.
In the case of these two tourists the police have confirmed to the international community how arrogant, incompetent, badly trained and evil some of them are.
I would not be surprised that the officers involved will be protected or get away with just a slap on the wrist. They may also say that they had their character tarnished unjustly and want to clear their name. All this when it is more than evident that they are in the wrong and have damaged Malta’s reputation because of their behaviour.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/court_and_police/38852/daewoo_accountant_describes_1999_police_interrogation_to_court#.U7gSjvRDt8E
http://ec-eu-john-dalli.blogspot.co.uk/p/inspector-raymond-cremona-his-biased_26.html
http://ec-eu-john-dalli.blogspot.co.uk/p/michael-cassar-ass-police-commissioner.html
I too have been the victim of police abuse. All because I made an official complaint about abuse. The case was thrown out by the judge the minute he realised the officers were committing perjury, although he stopped short of saying as much.
There were four charges, all lies. It caused me and my family strife, sleepless nights, lost days of leave of absence from work, not to mention the money – close to €1000. Of course the police incurred zero costs even though they lost. That is not fair at all.
They were proven to be in the wrong, yet I was still the financial loser.
The Nationalist government did virtually nothing to reform the police force during their time at the helm. Nor did they help me at all in my case. That was the one big failure of the PN’s time in office: not reforming the police force.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-28173984
In the days of the schools’ issue and demonstrations, PC No 5 chased me and hit me with a chain that he got out of his pocket for having had the temerity to get a close look at his PC number whilst he was kicking two old people – a couple – who had fallen to the ground in their effort to escape his wrath.
This was just after the old opera house ruins on the way out of Valletta, on the same day that the young Mifsud Bonnici was also beaten up by the Police and hospitalised.
This almost happened to me a few years ago on when coming off a return flight from Edinburgh. I was pulled aside and asked to strip and squat.
Now I’d had a few on the plane so I was feeling over confident and said no chance and sat on floor.
The two women police constables went on to intimidate, verbally abuse me and ransack my cases. They held me for four hours claiming it was just a random search and that I was a ‘kiesha’.
“Mela tahseb li ghandek xi haga specjali hemm isfel jew?” whilst snapping at their rubber gloves.
I refused numerous times and asked, as is my right, to go to hospital and get myself X-rayed. Eventually their superior turned up, totally unamused and sent me home. The spiteful, bored bitches didn’t get to humiliate me. l would have called that sexual assault.
People need to be made aware that of their right, even with the police, to say no.
Any future PN government needs to sign an agreement with either Italy or the UK to train our police officers alongside their police forces. It is the only way to introduce a professional work ethic. It could so easily be EU-funded.
Also, fitness tests need to be linked to wage incentives.
Not to worry, albona. Probably, Premier Joseph will be signing one with China or North Korea very soon indeed – just like his idol Mintoff did.