On Friday’s Xarabank, Pilatus Bank owner Ali Sadr Hasheminejad caused former prime minister and current Labour MEP Alfred Sant quite a few difficulties as he could not get himself to pronounce the Iranian’s name correctly.
Sant got himself entangled on Hasheminejad’s name and instead referred to him as “Sadri Aba Bum Bum” which was followed by a wry smile by the former Prime Minister.
Last month, Ali Sadr Hasheminejad was arrested and charged in the US for busting American sanctions against Iran.
In the programme Sant, said that “after 2015” he was approached by a Dutch journalist and showed him a threatening letter in Maltese sent to slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in connection with the investment of Crane Currency in Malta.
“This email is definitely not in the laptop deposited in the Courts of Law. How did this journalist come in possession of this email, Sant asked during the debate with PN MEP David Casa on Xarabank.
In a later statement, Sant added that former PN leader Simon Busuttil and his clique have a “strategy is to portray Malta as a Mafia state with a corrupt government that does not respect the rule of law.”
Sant went on to claim that this clique is “providing foreign journalists with information which puts the Maltese and Gozitan people in a bad light.”
On Saturday, Casa issued a statement in which he said that the police don’t need to look for the email on any laptop as this was made public by Caruana Galizia herself in 2012.
The threat was posted by Caruana Galizia herself on her blog and Casa said “”I have discovered the identity of the mysterious journalist that met Alfred Sant last week as part of his investigation into Crane Currency and have made contact with him. I have become aware of the top secret threat that was shared with Alfred Sant. You don’t need Daphne’s laptop to know about it, Dr Sant. Any device with an internet connection will do.”
‘Missing laptop’ narrative pushed by Labour delaying murder investigations
The ‘missing laptop’ narrative being pushed by Labour MP Glenn Bedingfield, Labour trolls and activists and certain sections of the media in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigations has paved the way for the men accused of carrying out the murder to delay court proceedings.
On Friday, one of the three accused, Alfred Degiorgio “il-Fulu”, filed Constitutional proceedings claiming a breach of fair trial over claims that the family of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia did not hand over a laptop to investigators.
Accusing the police of failing to collect all evidence, Degiorgio’s lawyer claimed that it was important that the laptop is analysed as it “could contain sensitive information about third parties responsible for this murder.”
The Shift News is informed that the Constitutional proceedings will further delay the case as this is likely to be countered by an application by lawyers representing the Caruana Galizia family which could be countered by yet another appeal by Degiorgio. After being arrested, the three accused delayed court proceedings by asking for the recusal of three magistrates. After successfully having two magistrates turn down the job to preside over the court proceedings, they saw their third attempt fail.
Although Prime Minister has repeatedly said that he will “leave no stone unturned” in the investigations to find the truth about the murder, Labour activists and acolytes have embarked on a campaign implying that the Caruana Galizia family is hiding her laptop. A number of banners appeared in key positions around Malta echoing the message conveyed by Bedingfield and other Labour figures.
The Caruana Galizia family said that it does not trust investigators with the murdered journalist’s laptop. Daphne’s sister Corrine Vella told The Daphne Project “She would always hide her laptop before going out. It was about protecting her sources. And she died protecting her sources. She knew that whatever information the police got hold of would go straight to the same people in government she was investigating.”