Josef Vincenti, 31, a maintenance worker, was remanded in custody after being accused in court of having written hate speech related posts on Facebook.

Vincenti was accused of having, on 10 September, publicly incited persons to commit a crime and to break the law, of having used a social network to threaten to commit a crime, and of having used threatening words or behaviour with the intention of inciting  violence.

He was also charged with breaching the conditions of his conditional release and of being a relapse.

Vincenti pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him.

His defence told the court, presided by Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace, that the charges would have to be analysed within the context of the Facebook posts in question.

No request for bail was made, and the accused was remanded in custody.

Lawyer Victor Bugeja was legal aid for the accused.

Inspector Roxane Tabone prosecuted