MaltaToday editors Saviour Balzan and Matthew Vella yesterday lost two libel cases initiated by former PN secretary general Paul Borg Olivier, and the two were fined a total of €4,000 in damages.

The case was submitted in 2010 by Borg Oliver, who at the time was PN secretary general, after he deemed as libellous and defamatory content in two articles published on the same day, 26 August 2010.

The articles published were a front page story titled “Paul Borg Olivier campaigns in Sliema as he expels Dimech” written by Vella, and and Balzan’s opinion piece "You simply don’t have it".

The court, presided over by magistrate Francesco Depasquale, ruled that the articles were libellous and defamatory in respect of Borg Olivier. The editors were each fined €2,000 in damages.