You can read Michael’s article on the subject here.
Michael Kaden from NEWZ.mt, the media producer and editor who I’m currently working with on the ‘SIEGĦA‘ project, was summoned to the police force’s headquarters at 12pm today. He was notified via a letter which is being reproduced below. The interrogation lasted an hour.
A photo of the summons sent to Michael Kaden.
It is noted that the stamp of the officer who signed off on the letter – inspector Marshal Mallia on behalf of the Vice Squad – bears an incorrect time stamp since it was set to 21 April, 2030. It is reasonable to assume that the erroneous time stamp was meant to refer to Sunday 21 April. Michael was not officially notified of the reason for the summons and was left with no choice but to present himself as requested by the police.
During questioning, a police sergeant who was tasked with interrogating the Austrian journalist explained that an undisclosed individual had reported him for hate speech based on a comment he had posted online. The alleged offending comment which formed the basis of the report is an obvious reference to the widely-derided legal saga featuring Bis-Serjeta’ satirist Matt Bonanno and River of Love cult leader Gordon Manche’.
Matt Bonanno’s comment translates to: “Go jump (off a cliff), ONE employees. (Satirically, obviously).”
Michael’s comment was, in fact, a reply to a comment from Bonanno himself on a social media post uploaded by the Labour Party’s propaganda outlet, ONE. The post, which dates back to July 2023, featured a widely criticised article which misleadingly quoted Labour MEP candidate Daniel Attard as if he were a lawyer who is not connected to the party and featured claims which were immediately fact-checked and found to be false.
A comment from Matthew Caruana Galizia (director of the Daphne Foundation) translates as follows: “this article includes a comment that is absolutely false. The magisterial inquiry related to my mother’s case was still ongoing when the public inquiry began. Yorgen Fenech and the others were arrested AFTER Joseph Muscat said he was going to initiate a public inquiry.” A comment from Nationalist Party secretary-general Michael Piccinino says: “Title should read: ‘Labour MEP candidate says that the magisterial inquiry is the only instrument…..” At least declare their interest instead of giving the impression that this was an impartial lawyer speaking.”
On the day Attard’s comments were reproduced verbatim by the Labour Party’s propaganda arm, the government was in crisis following its outrageous decision to turn down a motion in favour of a public inquiry that would look into the death of Jean-Paul Sofia. This website had published an extensive infographic document outlining the main findings of the public inquiry, which can be found by clicking here.
In a statement sent to this website, Kaden pointed out that his comment “was a reaction to Matt Bonanno’s comment in the context of the highly controversial charges against him. At no point did I refer to the Labour Party’s TV and radio station or to the content of the posting in question. I firmly reject the idea that this comment constitutes political hate speech as has been alleged.”
It is unclear whether the police force will actually press hate speech charges against the journalist, though a cursory look at the relevant legal article in the Criminal Code suggests that there is no outright incitement of violence or hatred since the comment in question is obviously of a satirical nature.
Article 82(A) of the Criminal Code.
This website stands firmly side by side with any independent journalist who is facing acts of oppression or intimidation by the country’s authorities, and Michael Kaden’s case is certainly no exception. This development is particularly troubling since it is widely known that those same authorities are unwilling to devote taxpayer resources to prosecuting high-level cases of corruption, preferring instead to squander them on frivolous hate speech allegations against journalists and satirists.
It is sincerely hoped that the rest of the press outlets in the country will report this serious harassment of a journalist who does not have the luxury of being backed up by a newsroom and is therefore facing this threat in his own capacity.
If we don’t stick up for each other when it matters, nobody else will.
