A renewed campaign of “intimidation and threats of reprisal” against Magistrate Gabriella Vella has emerged across the Labour Party and government media channels targeting the magistrate who concluded the inquiry into corruption related to the sale of public hospitals.

NGO Repubblika said the so-called “reporting” distorts Magistrate Vella’s professional actions. Comments from those close to disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat, who is facing criminal charges related to the scandalous deal, say it was the magistrate who ordered a search of the suspect’s residence.

“As if it were not the duty of a magistrate to make decisions and issue orders during an inquiry, which, after all, is precisely what a ‘magisterial inquiry’ entails,” Repubblika said.

Anyone accused of a crime will likely resent the state officials responsible for gathering evidence against them in court. However, not every accused individual has access to “the media and resources that Joseph Muscat enjoys,” the organisation added.

The intimidation of state officials is a “fascist and mafia-like tactic” employed when “corruption and bribery fail to work.”

If Muscat is innocent of the accusations against him, “he has every legal means to defend himself in court, just like any other citizen.”

Instead, he is orchestrating a media campaign aimed at “inciting hatred and violence” against the magistrate who investigated his alleged crimes.

This campaign also serves as a warning to other state officials involved in his case—witnesses yet to testify, prosecutors, and the magistrates and judges who will eventually rule on his case, the organisation stressed.

The underlying message is clear: “If they do not exonerate him, they will suffer the same fate as Magistrate Vella.”

“At the same time, we are witnessing alarming comments on social media beneath this intimidatory rhetoric, filled with hate speech and threats… This is dangerous.”

The organisation urged those responsible for ensuring the personal safety of Magistrate Vella, her family, and all state officials committed to justice to take the necessary precautions.

“As citizens, it is our duty to defend these officials if we want to uphold the right to have a justice system that protects us from criminals and corruption—no matter how powerful the corrupt may be or how much they attempt to intimidate those who uphold the law.”