Extremist Norman Lowell was charged in court yesterday afternoon with inciting racial hatred at public meetings and in a website article, and also with insulting the President of the Republic.

Mr Lowell was arrested yesterday morning and charged in the afternoon. Superintendent Peter Paul Zammit and Inspectors George Cremona and Angelo Caruana prosecuted and Dr Emmy Bezzina defended Mr Lowell before Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani Grima.

The locations of his alleged racist incitement are Rabat on 30 April and St Paul’s Bay on 8 May (when he also allegedly insulted the President). He was also charged with incitement of racial hatred regarding a highly anti-Semitic article, “Coming Cataclysmic Crisis”, carried on his website Viva Malta.

Dr Bezzina requested bail for Mr Lowell, which was unopposed by the prosecution. He was let out on bail on a personal guarantee of Lm5,000 even though Dr Bezzina told the court Mr Lowell couldn’t leave a deposit at court.

Mr Lowell is currently facing other court proceedings regarding charges of racial hatred speeches and writings.

Once out of court, Mr Lowell told the media that the arraignment was an attack on his freedom of expression, a political betrayal which shows that a tyrant losing the confidence of the people becomes ever more repressive.

Asked about the recent arson attacks, Mr Lowell just said: “I love my country and my people.”