Times: What's in a name?

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111016/blogs/what-s-in-a-name.389440
Sunday, October 16, 2011, 09:39 , by Alison Bezzina

Last night I went to watch FourPlay –a hilarious comedy by DnA theatre currently showing at the University.

I hadn't had such a good laugh in a very long log time, in fact the script was so side-splittingly twisted, that it got me thinking about marriage.

Yes marriage - the legal institution universally known for annihilating foreplay!

Anyone who has been married for a while will tell you that this is true, and the epidemic is so widespread, that in Malta, only same sex relationships are protected from this romance killer...but possibly not for long.

In my last blog I wrote that Joseph Muscat is not against same sex marriages (See excerpt below). Although he's been quoted in the PN-spun media that he is, it's simply not true.

What he claims to be against is calling 'it' by the same name, and though this is cowardly, it is by far different to being against it.

Muscat confirmed all this during yesterday's program Ghandi Xi Nghid on Radju Malta. I was hoping that the radio host, Dr. Andrew Azzopardi, would ask Muscat whether he'd be ready to provide same sex couples with the same legal and economic rights as their heterosexual counterparts, but he didn't.

Had he done so, I cannot see how Muscat could have said 'no' whilst still trying to convince us that his party is liberal and progressive.... oh! How I would have loved to hear him wriggle and stutter his way out of that one!

Of course, Muscat would have come up with the usual killjoy – that a same sex union cannot be called a marriage because he is still against same sex couples adopting children, but I'd bet my last dollar that his argument wouldn't have taken him far before getting him knotted up in a tight noose.

Although Muscat seems slightly more open minded than our Prime Minister about the matter, like our Prime Minister, he too is living in the traditional married set up, with the perfectly groomed wife, 2.5 children and a dog in the backyard, so I don't expect any major revolutions from either.

Whilst the Prime Minister is busy shoving his head in the sand and singing Church anthems at the top of his voice to drain us out, Muscat is comfortable pussy footing around the borders of our human rights at least until he wins the next election, so for now we can rest assured that foreplay within same sex relationships is not under threat.

But allow me, for the sake of these two politicians, and our little country, explain the situation as it truly is.

In today's world, marriage is not about status, it's not about families marrying a girl off, and it's certainly not about having children.

With the introduction of divorce, it's not even about giving your word to someone forever. Marriage, in today's world, is mostly about legal, social and economic benefits. Most of all it's about protection. And it's been like this for a while you know.

Sure, there's the white dress, the flowery aisles, the gobsmacked bridesmaids, and drunken best men, but put the religious and social ceremonies aside, and everything boils down to a long list of legal clauses that come into affect the moment the couple sign on the dotted line.

In the past, African-American slaves were not allowed to marry. Eventually the law in America was changed to allow their unions, but only for them to marry each other (i.e. other African Americans of the opposite sex).

Eventually this law was changed again to allow anyone who was sufficiently old and not too closely blood- related to get married. This included African-Americans marrying whoever they wanted.

Luckily, Malta is already in line with these two changes, but whilst most American states and European countries are changing their marriage laws once again in order to allow same sex marriages, we are once again lagging behind.

Of course we will get there... eventually we always do.

Years and years later, after we've trampled on the rights of thousands, we usually get there.

One day, we will realise that if marriage was like baptism, or first holy communion, or even confirmation, then denying these rights to gay couples wouldn't be an issue, because baptism, holy communion and confirmation are purely and entirely religious and carry absolutely no civic meaning whatsoever.

But marriage is not.

In fact marriage has very little to do with two people getting into it, and more to do with two people getting out. If a married couple stayed happily together, if neither one of them died or left the other, none of the legal clauses protecting them would have to be put to use. Proof of this is are the many couples who only find out about their rights and obligations just as soon as they file for separation or a spouse passes away. On the other hand, most married couples have no idea!
Marriage is a legal contract that grants you and your spouse a list of benefits, rights and protection. Its religious function should be entirely separate and simply available to those who want to dance with it for fun.

What gay couples want are not marriages of white dresses and shining armours, but marriages that are about having the right to the automatic status of next of kin, the right to have joint insurance policies, the right of residency for partners from non EU countries, automatic inheritance without the need for a will, the automatic right to live in the communal home in case of a partner's death, communal pension plans, social security, joint tax returns, domestic violence protection.....

The list goes on and on, and whatever Joseph Muscat wants to call this type of union, is absolutely and utterly irrelevant.

[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments on the Times' website.]

---
Excerpt from: Keeping Score, 9.10.11 by Alison Bezzina

The PL has many weak and potentially fatal points, but the most obvious one, at least to me, is that it can never be seen as anti-Clerical ever again. Members of the PL had a good taste of what lovely results this brings them, and they want to stay as far away from it as ever. In fact, this is why Joseph Muscat will not openly state that he is not against same sex marriages, and this is why Cyrus Engerer can live with being told that his new found 'leader' is ready to be convinced.

Like me, Cyrus knows that unlike Gonzi, on a personal level, Joseph Muscat is already convinced, but he won't come forth and say it because he feels the need to protect the party's refreshed relationship with the mighty Church. This is in fact the same reason why he initially pushed for divorce via a private member's bill and not by other (perhaps more effective) means that were available to him at the time.

MaltaToday: Cyrusgate: 'unjustifiable' delay in pressing charges against councillor after drug swoop on his father

http://maltatoday.com.mt/news/2011/1013/cyrusgate-inquiry-police-charges-engerer
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2011 By MATTHEW VELLA

Police investigators took too long to press charges against Cyrus Engerer over a report of harassment by his ex-boyfriend.

Board of inquiry finds no grounds for political motivations in charges pressed against Cyrus Engerer and his father in aftermath of PN resignation.

[CORRECTED on 14 October at 2:05pm]

Cyrus Engerer told Galea-Curmi he is Labour’s ‘star candidate’ on 9^th and 10^th electoral districts

Police took too long to press charges against Cyrus Engerer but no political motivations can be determined

Police acted on information received on 6 July to conduct drug search on Engerer’s father after search warrant issued on 21 July

Prime Minister’s chief of cabinet says it was a ‘mistake’ in calling Commissioner of Police in the presence of CyrusEngerer

[READ FULL INQUIRY REPORT on Google Docs]

An independent inquiry into a controversial police action taken a week after Labour activist Cyrus Engerer resigned from the Nationalist Party, has found that police investigators took too long to press charges against him over a report of harassment by his ex-boyfriend.

Citing the “unjustifiable” 18-month duration, retired judge Albert Manchésaid that a political motivation for the charges pressed just 10 days afterEngerer’s resignation from the PN, in the highly-politicised aftermath of the divorce referendum, could not be excluded.

News that Engerer was facing harassment charges for having circulated compromising pictures of Marvic Camilleri was published in The Times on 26 July, the day after police pressed charges against Engerer.

That same week, Engerer publicly revealed that drug squad police had raided the house and bar owned by his father Chris Engerer in Sliema on 21 July, and found him smoking half a cannabis joint and carrying fivegrammes of resin.

Six-month duration to press charges

The inquiry reveals that on 15 January Marvic Camilleri filed a report against Engerer for circulating compromising pictures of a sexual nature of him to friends and his employer. The Cybercrime Unit concluded its investigation in March, but police officers testified they could not bring inEngerer for questioning because he was frequently abroad.

However during this time Camilleri informed the police investigators he had lost interest in the case and that Engerer had apologised to him. The charges were still issued on 25 July.

Drug charges against father

Police inspector Neil Harrison of the Drug Squad also testified that on 6 July, he received a tip-off from a reliable source that Engerer’s father Chris – who has a drug history of heroin and cannabis possession dating from the 1980s – was smoking cannabis regularly down at his bar on Exiles beach, Sliema.

Harrison said he was under no pressure to investigate the report, and that he obtained his search warrant on 20 July and conducted his search the next day. Chris Engerer was stopped outside his house by plain-clothes officers, where he was apprehended smoking a joint and then found carrying five grammes of cannabis resin. Nothing was found in his bar.

Chris Engerer was reported to have told police his arrest was related to his son’s resignation from the PN, but Harrison denied any political motivation, saying he was not aware of the familial relation.

Involvement of PM’s secretary

Concerned about the development, Cyrus Engerer met with the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Edgar Galea-Curmi on 22 July, at the Xara Palace hotel in Mdina, to discuss the arrest.

Adding flavour to this stew of familial proximity is the fact that Galea-Curmi, a former social worker who had assisted Chris Engerer during his troubled past, was none other than a godparent of Cyrus Engerer. EdgarGalea-Curmi also told the board of inquiry Engerer now described himself as a star candidate for Labour.

So Galea-Curmi offered to call the Commissioner of Police in a bid to reassure Engerer that any charges pressed against his father had nothing to do with Engerer’s resignation, after his father’s lawyer Carlo Bisazzawarned him “to expect these kind of things” after breaking ranks with thePN.

The Commissioner denied the allegation to Galea-Curmi on the phone.Galea-Curmi also asked Rizzo to personally tell Engerer’s lawyer that the drug charges were not politically motivated, but Rizzo said the report had been filed six months earlier and that he did not interfere in prosecutions.

Cyrus Engerer told the board of inquiry he was unaware that Galea-Curmiwas speaking to the Commissioner. “I told him it was unfair that my family was being attacked… he was on the phone but I wasn’t next to him, he was walking in the street while talking.”

Galea-Curmi also claimed that after Engerer revealed this episode toMaltaToday, he felt his phone-call to Rizzo was a mistake. Galea-Curmiavailed himself of the personal blog of Malta Independent columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia to communicate his version of events.

[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments on MaltaToday's website.]

MaltaStar: Equal rights for all

http://www.maltastar.com/pages/r1/ms10dart.asp?a=16967
14 October 2011 23:43

There are citizens amongst us who are still deprived of the rights that the rest of us enjoy. Before the General Elections of 8th March 2008, the Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM) requested all political parties to commit themselves to legalise the rights of same-sex couples, to make violence against homosexuals a criminal offence, to address bullying against gays in schools, to prohibit discrimination in the delivery of goods and services on the grounds of sexual orientation, to extend the remit of the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality to cater for the grounds of sexual orientation and to include gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapy for transgender persons as part of the public health services.

At the top of their priorities MGRM put the formal recognition of the rights of same-sex couples. MGRM says that “many gay and lesbian people are already in same-sex relationships that are equivalent to heterosexual relationships in essential respects. Marriage has symbolic meaning and is an important social institution. Also significant are the many concrete legal protections that marriage provides.”

MGRM also holds that same-sex life partners in long-term, committed relationships lack the rights, benefits and duties that opposite-sex married couples automatically receive. By preventing the legal recognition of same-sex partners the state thrusts their families into legal limbo and excludes these couples and their children from full membership in society.

MGRM are right in stating that “any government which aims for an inclusive and just society has the duty and obligation to address discrimination based on prejudice.”

We are still lagging behind many other members of the European Union (EU) in this area. A report released three years ago by the EU's Agency for Fundamental Rights concludes that while lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people have broad legal protections in many of the countries in the EU, Malta is one of seven nations that protect against discrimination only in employment and need to expand that to other aspects of life. Malta also needs to prohibit antigay discrimination in such areas as housing and access to goods and services.

The agency also urged Malta to offer same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual married couples. In Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain gay couples have equal marriage rights while several other EU nations offer gays some form of registered partnership.

The EU agency also criticizes Malta for having no "equality body" to handle complaints related to antigay discrimination. The agency also said transgender people are especially in need of antidiscrimination protections, and further called for better application of existing laws covering hate speech and hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens. We should all agree with the director of the agency Morton Kjaerum when he says: "Equal treatment is a fundamental right that all members of our society should enjoy."

[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments on MaltaStar's website.]

Times: Doubts raised over delay in filing charges - ‘No evidence of irregularity’

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111014/local/Doubts-raised-over-delay-in-filing-charges.389106
14.10.2011

A link between the filing of charges against Sliema deputy mayor Cyrus Engerer and his resignation from the Nationalist Party cannot be ruled out, an inquiry judge has concluded, although he found no evidence of irregularity in the police action.

Judge Albert Manche’ has also found that the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, Edgar Galea Curmi, did not try to influence the police when he phoned the Commissioner of Police to ask about the arrest of Chris Engerer, Cyrus Engerer’s father, in a drug investigation.

Furthermore, Judge Manché upheld the right of The Times to report that the charges had been filed, stating that in a democratic society freedom of information came before any attempts to keep court proceedings secret, particularly when they involved a politician.

The inquiry, ordered by the government, delved into the way the police handled the two separate criminal cases involving Chris and Cyrus Engerer, the first connected to drugs and the second over the keeping and/or circulating pornography and of computer misuse.

The Labour Party had claimed the two were being victimised due to Cyrus Engerer’s defection to Labour and accused Mr Galea Curmi of interference when he made the phone call to the Police Commissioner. Judge Manché was tasked with looking into allegations of abuse of power, negligence or undue pressure, spanning all the facts of the case.

With regard to the police action taken against Cyrus Engerer and charges presented in court, Judge Manche’ observed that on January 10, 2010, Marvic Camilleri, Cyrus Engerer’s former partner, alleged to the police that he suspected Mr Engerer had stolen compromising pictures from his computer and was distributing them to various people, including his employer.

The Cyber Crime Unit concluded its investigation on March 7, 2010, having established how the pictures were transmitted from Mr Engerer’s former residence. The police could not immediately question Mr Engerer because he was abroad. Mr Camilleri eventually told the police that he had lost interest in the case but never formally
withdrew his complaint.

The police questioned Cyrus Engerer on June 23, 2011. On July 9, during the Gay Pride parade, he told an inspector to expedite his case. On July 15 he resigned from the PN and subsequently joined the PL.

On July 25 the police filed charges against Mr Engerer in court which included computer misuse and the distribution of pornography.

The Times reported the charges on the following day.

Judge Manche said that on completion of their investigations in March, the police could have instituted court proceedings against Mr Engerer. It was true that Mr Camilleri had wanted to withdraw his police report and that the police could not contact Mr Engerer. But the board was not convinced that the police showed any particular eagerness to do so, especially when means of communications were very easy these days.

After considerable delay, the charges were filed 10 days after Engerer resigned from the PN and joined the PL.

“Inevitably, one has to conclude that the police dragged their feet before July 15, 2011 and hurried in their proceedings against Cyrus Engerer afterwards, and that Cyrus Engerer’s resignation was the reason why the police hurried in their filing of the charges after so many delays,” the judge said.

He noted, however, that the police denied any connection between the resignation and the filing of charges, blaming the delay on Mr Camilleri’s loss of interest and the fact that Mr Engerer was abroad.

“Still, it is the Board’s view that the delay in the filing of the charges was not justified. Nor can it be reasonably excluded that the filing of the charges, only 10 days after the resignation from the PN, was linked to the resignation,” Judge Manche concluded.

However, he found no evidence of irregularity, since “the police had sufficient basis to proceed against Cyrus Engerer and it cannot be said that the police acted wrongly when the charges were filed”.

In the case of the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, the judge noted that Mr Galea Curmi had told the Commissioner of Police that Chris Engerer’s lawyer had said he expected such police action following Cyrus Engerer’s defection.

Mr Galea Curmi asked the Commissioner if he could speak to the lawyer to assure him that the arrest was not politically motivated.

The Commissioner requested a report from his subordinates but decided against speaking to the lawyer because it was not the role of the police to give explanations to defence counsel.

Judge Manche’ said he agreed with the Commissioner’s decision, because the duty of the police was to present its case and evidence in court and not to lawyers.
Furthermore, when there were allegations of abuse of power by the police, these too needed to be investigated.

As for the report in The Times, Judge Manche said the inquiry could not establish who had leaked the charges and the law protected journalists from revealing their sources.

The journalist had not disobeyed any court order. Nor did it appear that the publication of the report was unjustified, especially since it was a basic principle in democratic society that freedom of information came before any attempts to keep court proceedings secret, more so when the person involved was a politician.

[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments on the Times' website.]

Engerer inquiry does not exclude link between PN resignation and filing of charges
Report questions how police did not act earlier on basis of their information

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111013/local/engerer-inquiry-report-published.389045
Thursday, October 13, 2011, 20:39

An inquiry headed by Judge Albert Manche' has questioned how the police took months to investigate Cyrus Engerer over alleged computer misuse and distribution of pornography but then filed charges just 10 days after Engerer, the Deputy Mayor of Sliema, switched from the PN to the PL.

The report found that the police did not appear to have acted irregularly, but it questioned how charges were not filed earlier, on the basis of the information held by the police.

The fact that the charges were filed 10 days after Mr Engerer resigned from the PN meant one could not reasonably exclude a link between the two, the Inquiry found.
Judge Manche' also concluded that the prime minister’s Chief of Staff, Edgar Galea Curmi, did not try to influence the police when he phoned the Commissioner to ask about the arrest of Chris Engerer, Cyrus's father.

Chris Engerer was arrested as part of police Druq Squad investigations.

It had resulted, Judge Manche' said, that Mr Galea Curmi had told the Commissioner that Mr Chris Engerer’s lawyer had said that he expected such police action following Cyrus Engerer’s switch from the PN to the PL. The Commissioner denied that there was political interference, and Mr Galea Curmi asked the Commissioner if he could speak to the lawyer to assure him that the arrest was not politically motivated.

The Commissioner requested a report from his subordinates. He then explained to Mr Galea Curmi the sequence of events leading to Chris Engerer’s arrest, but he decided against speaking to the lawyer because it was not the role of the police to give explanations to defence counsel.

Judge Manche' said he agreed with the Commissioner’s decision, because the duty of the police was to present its case and evidence in Court and not to lawyers.

Furthermore, when there were allegations of abuse of power by the police, these too needed to be investigated.

POLICE ACTION AGAINST CYRUS ENGERER

With regard to the police action taken against Cyrus Engerer and charges presented in court, which were reported by The Times, Judge Manche' observed that on January 10, 2010, Marvic Camilleri, Cyrus Engerer’s former partner, alleged to the police that he suspected that Engerer had stolen compromising pictures from his computer and was distributing them to various people, including his employer.

The Cyber Crime Unit concluded its investigation on March 7, 2010, having established how the pictures were transmitted from Mr Engerer’s former residence. The police could not immediately question Engerer because he was abroad. Mr Camilleri eventually told the police that he had lost interest in the case, but never formally withdrew his complaint.

The police questioned Cyrus Engerer on June 23, 2011. On July 9, Cyrus Engerer during the Gay Pride parade told an inspector to expedite his case. On July 15 Mr Engerer resigned from the PN and subsequently joined the PL.

On July 25 the police filed charges against Mr Engerer in court. The charges included computer misuse and the distribution of pornography.

The Times reported the charges on the following day.

Judge Manche said that on completion of their investigations in March, the police could have instituted court proceedings against Mr Engerer. It was true that Mr Camilleri had lost interest and had wanted to withdraw his police report. It was also true that the police had tried to contact Mr Engerer before June 23, but could not do so because he was abroad. But the Inquiry was not convinced that the police showed any particular eagerness to try to contact Mr Engerer, especially when means of communications were very easy these days.

After considerable delay, the charges were filed 10 days after Engerer resigned from the PN and joined the PL.

"Inevitably, one has to conclude that the police dragged their feet before July 15, 2011 and hurried in their proceedings against Cyrus Engerer afterwards, and that Cyrus Engerer's resignation was the reason why the police hurried in their filing of the charges after so much delay."

The police had denied any connection between the resignation and the filing of charges, Judge Manche' said.

The early stages of the case clearly had no connection with Mr Engerer's resignation, because the case started 18 months before. According to the police, the delays in going to court stemmed from Mr Camilleri's loss of interest and the fact that Engerer was abroad.

"Still, it is the Board's view that the delay in the filing of the charges was not justified. Nor can it be reasonably excluded that the filing of the charges, only 10 days after the resignation from the PN, was linked to the resignation.

"On the other hand, there is no evidence of irregularity, since it has resulted that the police had sufficient basis to proceed against Cyrus Engerer and it cannot be said that the police acted wrongly when the charges were filed," Judge Manche' said.
One can have basis to suspect that the filing of charges, 10 days after Mr Engerer crossed from the PN to the PL, was not a simple coincidence

However, there was no evidence of any interference for the case not to proceed, or otherwise.

One could have basis to suspect that the filing of charges, 10 days after Mr Engerer crossed from the PN to the PL, was not a simple coincidence, Judge Manche' said.
Judge Manche said the inquiry could not establish who had leaked the charges to The Times, and the law protected journalists from revealing their sources. It could not be established if the information was given to the journalist before or after the charges were filed in court.

The journalist had not disobeyed any court order. Nor did it appear that the publication of the report was unjustified, especially since it was a basic principle in democratic society that freedom of information came before any attempts to keep court proceedings secret, more so when the person involved was a politician.

See inquiry report in full by clicking pdf below.

Inquiry Report in full.

[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments on the Times' website.]

MaltaToday: It’s not easy being Green | Michael Briguglio

http://maltatoday.com.mt/news/2011/1011/it%E2%80%99s-not-easy-being-green-michael-briguglio
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2011 By MIRIAM DALLI

[Excerpt from the article.]

...

Briguglio also questions the other parties’ commitment to civil and gay rights.

“We are the only party with clear policies on the LGBT community - the PNhas taken a very conservative stand while Labour promises everything to everyone, but the only concrete thing we have heard from Joseph Muscat so far is that he will definitely not allow gays to obtain certain rights…”

He also mentions minority rights, the modernisation of censorship laws and the amalgamation of economic and environmental policies.

“We have a very forward-looking economic agenda where we say that environment actually creates jobs and if we have a greener economy it would help create a lot of jobs.”

But is this enough to attract the necessary votes to get elected?

“As a Green party we give importance to economic, social and environmental issues. There is also a growing consciousness on theseissues.”

By way of example, Briguglio says that the divorce experience teaches us that Malta is moving closer to being a “fully-fledged” secular European society: “The best bet to have such a society is to have AD in parliament. We are not in parliament, and yet we have managed to help Malta obtain EU membership and divorce rights. Just imagine what we would do if we were in parliament…”

...

[Click on the hyperlink above to view the complete article and the comments on MaltaToday's website.]

MaltaStar: Transgender Australians win landmark court case

http://www.maltastar.com/pages/r1/ms10dart.asp?a=16741
06 October 2011 12:41

Australian transgender campaigners say the ruling will prevent others from undergoing medically unnecessary surgery to have their chosen gender recognised. Photograph: Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images

Two transgender people have won an appeal in Australia's highest court giving them legal recognition as men despite not completing sex-change surgeries.

Transgender and intersex organisations praised the ruling as a precedent that would spare others from having to undergo medically unnecessary surgery to have their chosen gender recognised.

The court ruled that characteristics that identify a person as male or female are "confined to external physical characteristics that are socially recognisable". This recognition does not require knowledge of a person's sexual organs, the court said.

The pair, who have not been named, had their breasts surgically removed and underwent male hormone therapy, but retain some female sex organs.

The Western Australia state Gender Reassignment Board had refused to certify them as male because their sex change surgeries were incomplete.

Aram Hosie, spokesman for the Western Australia Gender Project, said transgender people had previously been unable to legally change their gender "without invasive, medically unnecessary surgeries that may be unwanted, impractical or unattainable".

A spokesman for the campaign group Gender Agenda, Peter Hyndal, said the judgment was in line with South Africa, Britain and some other European countries that have relaxed surgical prerequisites for legally changing gender.

Last month, Australia altered its rules to allow transgender people to change the gender on their passports without sex-change surgery.

Source: The Guardian

[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments on MaltaStar's website.]

Di-ve: Rapist jailed for 9 years

http://www.di-ve.com/Default.aspx?ID=72&Action=1&NewsId=86615&newscategory=34&cache=false

by di-ve.com - editorial@di-ve.com
04 October 2011 -- 13:15CEST

A 26-year-old man was jailed for 9 years after he admitted to raping an 18-year-old Frenchman in an incident which occurred over 3 years ago.

Sudan-born Ahmed Issa admitted to raping the 18-year-old, who was in Malta to learn English, in Paceville in the small hours of February 3, 2008. He was set to face a trial by jury.

The 18-year-old was distributing flyers for an upcoming party with his friends. By the time he stopped distributing them at around 0100h, his friends had all left home, and he tried to find a taxi to take him to his host family in Balzan. However, he had just €5 and could not find a taxi to take him home for that amount, or someone to share a taxi with.

Later in the night, he approached Mr Issa and another man, asking them whether they were willing to drive him home for €5, and they accepted, telling him that their car was parked near the Hilton Hotel.

They walked down to Shingles Bay, but the 2 suddenly assaulted him, robbed his mobile phone and undressed him. When he cried for help, they hit him with a rock to silence him before raping him. They bound his feet with his own jacket and left, but Mr Issa returned minutes later and raped him again.

Mr Issa admitted to 2 counts of rape, holding the victim against his will, injuring him, public indecency, and theft.

When delivering his sentence, Judge Lawrence Quintano acknowledged Mr Issa’s guilty plea, but noted that it could not be deemed to be an early admission. He subsequently jailed Mr Issa for 9 years.

Lawyer Aaron Bugeja prosecuted, while lawyer Joseph Mifsud represented Mr Issa.

L-Orizzont: Sudaniż jammetti flok għadda ġuri li stupra żagħżugħ - Ikkundannat disa’ snin ħabs

http://www.orizzont.com.mt/oldarticles/article2532.html

5.10.11

Ahmed Issa, ta’ 23 sena mis-Sudan, ilbieraħ kien ikkundannat disa’ snin ħabs, wara li ammetta flok għadda ġuri li stupra żagħ­żugħ Franċiż ta’ 18-il sena. Il-każ kien seħħ fil-lejl ta’ bejn it-2 u t-3 ta’ Frar tal-2008.

Dakinhar tal-inċident, il-vittma kien qiegħed Pace­ville ma’ xi ħbieb tiegħu studenti li kienu ġew hawn Malta biex jitgħallmu l-Ingliż. Wara li qassam xi ‘flyers’ ta’ party li kellu jiġi organizzat dak il-Ħadd stess filgħaxija, kie­nu laħqu saru s-1.00 a.m, u sħabu kienu kollha telqu lejn id-dar.
Għalhekk ipprova jmur isib ‘taxi’ biex tieħdu lura d-dar fejn kien qed joq­għod ma’ familja Maltija f’Ħal Balzan. Iżda peress li kulma kellu fuqu kienu biss €5, is-sewwieq tat-taxi kien qallu li b’dak l-ammont ta’ flus biss ma kienx dispost iwasslu sa Ħal Balzan, sa­kemm ma kienx hemm ħaddieħor li seta’ jaqsam l-ispejjeż tal-vjaġġ miegħu.

Għalkemm għamel madwar nofs siegħa jistenna, ħadd ma tfaċċa u għalhekk il-vittma irrassenja ruħu u telaq ’l hemm. Kif kien sejjer fid-direzzjoni tal-Burger King, il-vittma ra żewġt irġiel u staqsiehom jekk kinux disposti li jwassluh sa Ħal Balzan bil-karozza tagħhom għal prezz ta’ €5. Dawn iż-żewġt ir­ġiel kienu l-akkużat u raġel ie­ħor, probabbilment ta’ nisel Għar­bi, li ismu baqa’ mhux magħ­­­ruf.

Dawn iż-żewġt irġiel qalu lill-akkużat biex isegwihom lejn il-karozza tagħhom li skont huma, kienet ipparkjata viċin il-Lukanda Hilton. Huma u neżlin qalulu wkoll li qabel jitilqu, xtaqu li jpejpu sigarett ħdejn il-baħar. Wara, dawn iż-żewġt irġiel u l-vittma mxew lejn il-post magħruf bħala Shingles Bay, li tinsab f’San Ġiljan. Kif waslu fuq il-blat bdew ipej­pu sigarett, madankollu f’mu­ment minn­hom, iż-żewġt irġiel daru fuq il-vittma u bdew jissaraw miegħu biex jisirqulu l-mowbajl, il-flus li kellu fuqu u ċ-ċintorin li kien liebes.

Il-vittma pprova jissara magħ­hom, iżda dawn bdew jimbuttawh lejn il-baħar, jagħtuh bis-sieq u b’idejhom. Filwaqt li l-vittma pprova jgħajjat għall-ajjut, iż-żewġt irġiel komplew jagħtuh b’ġebla fuq rasu bil-kon­segwenza li sofra diversi ġrie­ħi.

Waqt li kien stordut b’kon­segwenza tad-daqqiet li qala’, l-akkużat u sieħbu bdew ineżżaw lill-vittma minn ħwejġu. Waqt li l-akkużat kien qiegħed iżomm lill-vittma, ir-raġel l-ieħor ippro­va jistupra lill-vittma, madankollu ma rnexxielux. F’dan il-mument l-akkużat Ahmed Issa dar fuq sieħbu u qallu li ma kienx tajjeb għal dan ix-xogħol.

Sussegwentament, l-akkużat bl-għajnuna tar-raġel l-ieħor li kien miegħu, dar fuq il-vittma biex jistuprah. Il-vittma kompla jirreżisti, madankollu r-raġel l-ieħor beda jagħti bis-sieq fuq ras il-vittma biex jipprova jikkont­rollah, u stupra lill-vittma.

B’konsegwenza ta’ hekk, il-vittma ntelaq għal mejjet fl-art u meta raw hekk, iż-żewġt irġiel urew il-ħsieb li jitilqu ’l hemm. Iżda qabel ma għamlu dan, qab­du l-ġakketta li kien liebes il-vitt­ma u rabtulu saqajh biha. Iżda x’ħin kienu se jitilqu minn fuq il-post, l-akkużat, iddeċieda li jerġa’ jdur lura, ħataf lill-vittma u reġa’ stuprah. Wara li dam jistuprah għal diversi minuti, l-akkużat telaq lill-vittma fl-art, poġġielu l-‘pull over’ fuq rasu u telaq ’l hemm bil-flus u bil-mowbajl tal-vittma.
Il-vittma għamel madwar għaxar minuti f’agunija, iżda meta beda jistejqer ftit ipprova jħoll l-irbit li għamlulu ma’ saqajh u mar ifittex l-għajnuna. Malti li nzerta kien għaddej minn dan il-post, sejjaħ ambulanza li ħadet lill-vittma l-Isptar Mater Dei. X’ħin ġiet biex tagħti s-sentenza, il-Qorti ppreseduta mill-Imħallef Lawrence Quintano, filwaqt li sabet lill-akkużat ħati wara li hu stess ammetta, qieset diversi fatturi. Fost l-oħ­rajn il-Qorti qieset l-ammissjoni tal-akkużat qabel ma ġie fformat ġuri. Madankollu l-Qorti qalet li din l-ammissjoni ma tistax tit­qies bħala waħda bikrija.

L-akkużat Ahmed Issa kien ikkundannat disa’ snin ħabs. Il-Prosekuzzjoni tmexxiet mill-Avu­kat Aaron Bugeja filwaqt li għall-akkużat deher l-Avukat Joe Mifsud.

Times: Student seeking a lift home raped twice within minutes

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111005/local/Student-seeking-a-lift-home-raped-twice-within-minutes.387770
Wednesday, October 5, 2011, by Waylon Johnston

A Frenchman who was expecting a lift home was instead brutally raped by a Sudanese who was yesterday jailed for nine years after admitting to the heinous crime.

The victim, who was 18 at the time of the incident on February 2, 2008, was raped twice by Ahmed Issa, now 26, an immigrant previously living at the Ħal Far open centre.

Another man was also involved but he was never found.

On the night in question, the victim, who was learning English in Malta, had finished his part-time job of handing out flyers in central Paceville when he realised that the only money he had left was a €5 note. His friends had already gone home and he decided to try his luck with a taxi driver and asked if he could be taken home to the host family he was living with in Balzan.

The taxi driver told him €5 were not nearly enough, inviting him to wait, perhaps he could find others who needed to get home but nobody turned up and he walked back to Paceville where he met Mr Issa and the other yet unknown man near the Burger King outlet. He asked them whether they could take him home for €5 and they accepted adding that their car was parked at the Hilton, asking him to follow them. As they walked to the car park, they told him they wanted to smoke a cigarette near the sea and all three went to Shingles Bay. Just moments after getting onto the rocky beach, they looked for his mobile phone and wallet in his pockets but he resisted and tried to push them away.

They punched and kicked him and when he called for help one of the attackers got hold of a rock and hit him on the head. They took advantage of his disorientated state and began undressing him. The other man tried to rape the student as Mr Issa held him down but was unsuccessful. Mr Issa told his companion he (the other attacker) evidently was not up to it and it would be him (the accused) who would rape their victim. This he did in a matter of a few seconds.

The other man held the victim still until Mr Issa was done. The two attackers agreed they should leave, with the victim motionless on the ground. But Mr Issa decided to rape him again, this time taking a few minutes. They then tied the victim’s feet up using his jacket and threw his jersey over his head. In agony, the victim remained on the ground until he managed to regain some strength to make it to the road where a passer-by called an ambulance.

Mr Issa was meant to stand trial by jury but decided to admit the charges when he appeared before Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano.

[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments on the Times' website.]
---

Times: Updated: Rapist jailed nine years

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111004/local/rapist-jailed-nine-years.387739

Tuesday, October 4, 2011, 12:41

Sudanese Ahmed Issa, 23, who lives in Hal Far has been jailed for nine-years after admitting to raping an 18-year-old Frenchman in February 2008.

The Frenchman had been in Malta to learn English.

He was in Paceville with friends distributing flyers for a party the following Sunday. By 1 a.m. his friends had left and he tried to find a taxi to take him home to Balzan. However, he only had €5 and could not find a taxi to take him home for that amount.

He walked towards Burger King, where he saw two men – the accused and another man, and asked them if they would take him to Balzan for €5.

They asked him to follow them to their car, which was parked near the Hilton Hotel.

Then they told him that they wanted to smoke a cigarette and walked to Shingles Bay.

They started smoking a cigarette and at one point they became violent and started fighting the victim, they hit him and undressed him and when he tried to fight back, they pushed him towards the sea.

When they got him unconscious, the accused held the victim while the other man tried to rape him unsuccessfully. The accused then raped the victim while the other man continued to hit him as he tried to fight off his aggressors.

They then bound his feet with his jacket and left. However, the accused returned moments later and raped him again.

The victim spent 10 minutes in agony then freed himself and went to seek help. A Maltese man called an ambulance which took him to hospital for treatment.

The other aggressor was never found.

[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments on the Times' website.]

Times: Bullied for sexual orientation

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111006/local/Bullied-for-sexual-orientation.387901
Thursday, October 6, 2011

There are far too many instances in Maltese schools of bullying due to sexual orientation, according to Labour education spokesman Evarist Bartolo.
Mr Bartolo made the statement to mark the International Day of Teachers yesterday, the theme of which is equality between girls and boys.

Teachers should be given all the support they needed to ensure students, including those of a different sexual orientation, were treated equally. He added that teachers should be given respect, adequate working conditions and a salary that reflected the work they did, be involved in any changes made to the education system, and get help to care for children through the employment of professionals in healthcare, social care and psychology.

Ghalliema mpenjati ghall-ugwaljanza

http://www.partitlaburista.org/view/main/informazzjoni/stqarrijiet

It-tema ta’ din is-sena tal-Jum Dinji tal-Ghalliema (5 ta’ Ottubru 2011) hija: ‘L-Ghalliema ghall-ugwaljanza bejn il-bniet u s-subien’ turi bic-car kemm ir-responsabbiltajiet tal-ghalliema jmorru ferm lilhinn minn taghlim formali u ezamijiet u turi r-rabta li hemm bejn l-edukazzjoni u d-drittijiet civili.

Ghandu jinghata kull appogg lill-ghalliema biex ikunu jistghu jimpenjaw irwiehhom favur drittijiet ugwali ghat-tfal kollha, inkluz dawk ta’ orjentazzjoni sesswali differenti. Fl-iskejjel taghna ghad ghandha oqsma fejn il-bniet qed jaqghu lura u oqsma ohra fejn is-subien qed jaqghu lura. Fl-iskejjel taghna hemm bzonn ukoll isir izjed biex it-tfal minn eta` zghira jaccettaw id-diversita`. Ghad ghandna wisq kazi ta’ bullying li jsir fuq tfal minhabba l-orjentazzjoni sesswali taghhom. Dawn it-tfal ihossuhom imwarrbin minn kmieni u l-edukazzjoni ghandha sservi biex ikunu nkluzi fis-socjeta` taghna.

Biex l-ghalliema jkunu jistghu jedukaw ahjar dwar id-drittijiet civili hemm bzonn li huma wkoll ikunu f’kundizzjoni li jgawdu dawn id-drittijiet u jigu nvoluti b’mod genwin f’dak kollu li jigri fl-iskejjel taghna.

Huwa importanti wkoll li l-ghalliema jkollhom il-kundizzjonijiet xierqa ta’ xoghol: salarju li jirrifletti l-impenn taghhom, rispett shih lejn il-professjonalita` taghhom u li jkunu nvoluti fit-tibdil kollu fis-sistema edukattiva ghax is-success tat-tibdil jiddependi mis-sehem shih tal-ghalliema. Importanti li dan it-tibdil ikun tassew biex l-ghalliema jedukaw ahjar lill-istudenti u mhux iservi biex jibdel lill-ghalliema fi skrivani fejn iqattghu hafna hin jimlew il-karti flok jedukaw lill-istudenti. Essenzjali wkoll li l-ghalliema jithallew jahdmu fil-paci u jkunu mharsa minn kull tip ta’ vjolenza kontra taghhom.

Fid-dinja tal-lum fejn zdiedu u kibru d-dmirijiet tal-iskejjel biex jedukaw lit-tfal hemm bzonn li l-ghalliema jinghataw ir-rizorsi mehtiega biex iwettqu dmrijiethom tajjeb. Dawn ir-rizorsi jikkonsistu f’rizorsi teknologici u ta’ materjal edukattiv. Hemm bzonn jinghataw ukoll persuni ohra professjonali fl-oqsma tas-sahha, harsien socjali u psikologi biex ikunu jistghu jghinu lill-ghalliema jiehdu hsieb il-bzonnijiet differenti tal-istudenti.

Evarist Bartolo
Kelliemi ewlieni tal-Edukazzjoni