The partner of former minister Joe Grima is claiming that a police inspector illicitly recorded her as she filed a criminal libel report against columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia, and is challenging the police commissioner and the Attorney General to initiate criminal proceedings against him.

Lawyer Lynn Zahra had gone to the Sliema police station to file a report against Ms Caruana Galizia, filing it with Insp. Jason Sultana. She said that she spoke to Insp. Sultana in the office of Supt Ray D’Anastas, and that no one else was present when she did.

Dr Zahra said that as they spoke, Insp. Sultana took out his mobile phone and placed it on the desk, but said that she did not realise that she was being recorded at the time.

However, she added, on July 2013, she read a post on Ms Caruana Galizia’s blog in which the author mentions that “somebody who was at the station recorded the conversation on an iPhone and sent it to me.”

Dr Zahra concluded that only the inspector could have recorded the conversation, and filed a report against him.

However, in her challenge, she noted that the previous two police commissioners, Peter Paul Zammit and Ray Zammit, did not take steps despite their assurances to the contrary. Last November, she called the police’s Internal Affairs Unit to check whether any developments took place, only to be told that the file had been lost.

Dr Zahra persisted, and sought to bring the case to the attention of the current commissioner, Michael Cassar.

She insisted that Mr Cassar did not show much interest in the case, but added that after she called him and informed him that a legal challenge would be filed, he informed her that the file had been found, and that the Attorney General’s advice was to be sought on whether to proceed against Insp. Sultana or not.

But Dr Zahra was aggrieved she was contacted by the Internal Affairs Unit to speak to Insp. Jesmond Micallef on the case.

She argued that there was no valid reason for her to make a statement at this stage, when she had already spoken to the police particularly since Insp. Micallef was also stationed at the Sliema police station and could not appear to be impartial in a case involving his colleague.

Dr Zahra said that Insp. Sultana’s behaviour was likely in breach of Article 257 of the Criminal Code – which concerns the disclosure of professional secrets – as well as of the provisions of the Professional Secrecy Act, and asked the court to order the Police Commissioner to arraign the inspector.