Daphne Caruana Galizia was fined €2,400 after being found guilty by a court of defaming former Azzjoni Nazzjonali Repubblikana spokesman Martin Degiorgio, whom she had described as a fascist.
Ms Caruana Galizia had written two opinion pieces in The Malta Independent on Sunday in 2006. The first titled ‘Black shirts and blacker hearts’ was published on 21 May, while the second one titled ‘Martin and friends make the news’ was published on 18 June.
Mr Degiorgio had sued the columnist for damages over various remarks including similarities which she had made between him and far-right leader Norman Lowell.
In its decision the court presided by Magistrate Gabriella Vella said the comments by Ms Caruana Galizia were libellous and could not be considered as fair comment.
The court noted that use of the term “fascist” was not intended to describe Mr Degiorgio's political ideology, but to insult him through the negative socio-political attributes associated with such term.
Mrs Caruana Galizia had failed to produce enough evidence to support her claim that a post on an internet forum in which Adolf Hitler had been described as “one of the most significant personalities of the 20thcentury”, had been written by the ANR spokesman.
As for a comment that Africans risked turning Malta into a toilet of the Mediterranean, the court said that the columnist had failed to present the original source, which according to her had been made in the International Herald Tribune.