A bird hunter appeared in court yesterday, accused of taking part in the violence that took place during a demonstration organised by the Federation of Hunting and Conservation early last month.

James Magri, 30, from Rabat is the seventh hunter to be charged.

He was accused of attempting to assault police officers on 7 March at about 6pm in Republic Street, Valletta. He was also charged with attempting to impede police officers from carrying out their duties and with disobeying their orders.

The final charge was of being part of a group of 10 people or more who gathered specifically to commit an offence. Mr Magri pleaded not guilty to all the charges and bail was granted against a personal guarantee of Lm500.

Police inspector Pierre Micallef-Grimaud and Anthony Portelli prosecuted while Dr Anglu Farrugia and Dr Edward Gatt appeared for the defendant.