The government has flip flopped on its stance regarding the abduction of former AFM Captain Martin Galea, originally calling the case an abduction, then being unsure as to what had really happened, then confirming the abduction following the exclusive interview Mr Galea gave to The Malta Independent.

On 25 July, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat used the word “abduction (htif)” multiple times during his statement in Parliament, contrary to arguments made later by civil service head Mario Cutajar who said that “abduction” had been a term coined by the media, only to reverse his position and admit the fact some time later.

Former AFM Captain Martin Galea was abducted and kept captive for 11 days by Libyan militiamen and released on 28 July. In an exclusive interview given to The Malta Independent, he described his ordeal, with shots fired close to his head, being forced to commit self-harm and having his life threatened, all while being deprived of food for four days during his abduction.         

Chronologically, it was Dr Muscat who used the word “abduction” the first time when he addressed the House.

In his statement, he said: “The government was informed last Sunday, 20 July, by a colleague, then later by the wife of the person indicated (Martin Galea), that this person had been abducted. Within a few minutes of this information, we started contacting people, through the police and diplomatic corps, in order to establish contact with this person or the people who abducted him”.

“I will also add that the situation, through the delicate information we have received, that the kidnapping of this person took place at a road block,” Dr Muscat said. “So far, through the Diplomatic Service and through efforts made during the past days, we are positive that we have identified the particular militia faction that abducted this person. Contacts have also been made, both on political and security service levels, in order for this person to be freed”.

Continuing his statement in Parliament, the Prime Minister said: “I understand, Mr President, that criticism can be made for not making this information public, however we have been advised that less publicity in this case will be better for the health of this person, who is still not in a safe position. We cannot comment on his position. There are persistent reports which have been confirmed a few minutes ago, that the person is still alive. However the more publicity the situation receives, the more it can make difficult to get the person released.”

But Mr Cutajar, in an informal press briefing on Wednesday, 30 July, said: “We (government) never used the word abduction,” emphasising that it was the media who in fact called the situation so. Mr Cutajar was giving a press conference with OPM Head of Communications Kurt Farrugia, who said that the government never had direct contact with whoever was holding Mr Galea and that they were still unsure of who was responsible for the situation.

A day later, however, the situation changed after the publication of Mr Galea’s interview with The Malta Independent. Addressing another informal press conference, Mr Cutajar changed tack and said that authorities have no doubt that Galea’s case is one of abduction. It has now definitively endorsed that Martin Galea was indeed abducted, he said.

The government’s actions raise several key questions, such as why it chose to publicly call into doubt Martin Galea’s abduction when all its statements and acts leading up to his release pointed to the fact that government was aware that he had been abducted and held against his will. How is it that, following the Security Services interview, the government could not conclude that Martin Galea had been in fact abducted, yet following an interview in the media, came to the conclusion that he was? 

With regard to identifying the group responsible for his kidnapping, Martin Galea told the Malta Independent that the name of the group who rescued him from his abductors was called Yad il-Yamini, who had direct contact with his abductors.

The Prime Minister, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for the Home Affairs had greeted Mr Galea upon his return at the airport, however have not held any conferences on the topic since. Mr Cutajar and Mr Farrugia have held the informal press briefings.

Other reports have said that delays for his release were due to Galea’s abductors not speaking English, however Martin Galea, in his exclusive interview with The Malta Independent, said that one spoke perfect English and that two of the militia men actually lived in Malta at some point.  In addition, Martin Galea spoke perfect Arabic and on occasion spoke with his captors.