In the protest filed yesterday, Dr Busuttil said contrary to what AD is claiming, he never said the party agreed with abortion. The party is accusing him of this as propaganda for their European Parliament election campaign, he said.

The protest claims that Dr Busuttil had only suggested that it is not enough for AD to say it is against abortion while it is also a member of a European Party (the Greens) that supports its

legalisation.

When dealing with such a fundamental issue, continued Dr Busuttil in the protest, AD should have either fought to change the party’s stance or reconsidered its membership within the party. AD not only did none of this but even allowed Prof. Cassola to remain the Greens’ secretary-general, he said.

Dr Busuttil said that due to this “clear political contradiction, Prof. Cassola is faced with a conflict of interest with regard to safeguarding Malta’s

values within the EP”.

The protest claimed that the criminal libel charges the AD has asked to be pressed against him is an attempt by Dr Vassallo and Prof. Cassola to suppress criticism for the conflicting position they find themselves in. Moreover, they assume that their political stance in agreement with EU membership should serve as protection from any criticism,

continued Dr Busuttil.

Dr Busuttil said his comments on AD’s stance were legitimate and correct. His attorney, Dr Joseph Giglio, wrote a letter to Police Commissioner John Rizzo on his behalf. If the charges are not withdrawn, Dr Busuttil has asked Mr Rizzo to have the case initiated as soon as possible in order for him to tell his side of the story and his innocence be confirmed by the court.