The police will press charges against an individual who subjected a Maltese activist to online harassment after she attended a protest outside a gala dinner event to promote Malta’s individual investor programme.

A spokesperson confirmed with Lovin Malta that a person will be prosecuted, but refrained from providing more details as the individual is yet to arraigned in court.  

After the protest, which also saw the campaigners engage in a debate with tenor Joseph Calleja, social media was flooded with derogatory comments directed at Tina Urso, an activist part of Il-Kenniesa, with some even sharing her personal details, such as her address and ID Number. 

Artistic Director Mario Philip Azzopardi had called her a 'sorry bitch' after she participated in and filmed a demonstration held in London against the IIP programme. He later apologised, claiming he had fallen victim to 'fake news'.

Urso has since featured on a Bloomberg feature covering global state-sponsored trolling, saying:

“Tina Urso went to bed on April 21 pleased with the small protest she helped organize in London around the visit of Malta’s prime minister. She wanted to call attention to the country’s unusual practice of selling passports to foreigners and the money laundering it has engendered. By the time she woke up, her Facebook feed was deluged with threats of violence and misogynist insults, including the false charge that she ran an escort service. Researchers concluded the attacks were coordinated through private Facebook groups administered by government employees and officials of Malta’s ruling Labour Party. Participants would eventually publish her parents’ address, as well as her confidential National ID card number. 

“My Facebook account was flooded with notifications, people sharing everything about me, manipulating photos taken from my profile,” Urso said. “It was just insane what they were able to do in just a few hours.””