In any other European country, the police would have called a press conference last night and announced why they were interrogating a former European Commissioner and a businessman about an EU directive.
The police would have questioned both men and then called the press in to give them details about the case, explaining why such a high profile person was in custody. The issue, of course, is about John Dalli and businessman Silvio Zammit, who are being questioned after the EU’s anti fraud office (Olaf) passed on a report which led to Mr Dalli being asked to resign because there existed “unambiguous circumstantial evidence” that he failed to alert the Commission about an illegal approach over matters related to his portfolio.
On Tuesday, rumours began to circulate that Mr Dalli and Mr Zammit had been taken in for questioning. Granted, the police should not have alerted the press to the matter at the time. But given the sensitivity of the case and the weight that it carries, then the police should have at least made a public statement as to why the two men were called in.
As matters stand, all we know is that the EU has pointed the finger at Mr Dalli and that the Attorney General has decided that the Olaf report warrants more investigation in terms of our national legislation. But where does that leave Mr Dalli? We have already mentioned that the public deserves to know why this high profile politician is being questioned. But we will also take a look at Mr Dalli and Mr Zammit’s situations. As matters stand, they are the subject of gossip on every street corner and society has already passed judgment, with most saying that they “must be guilty because of the silence”. And this is where we believe that the police have fallen short. In keeping silent, they have made public opinion even more convinced about Mr Dalli and Mr Zammit – with no one having even seen the contents of the reports. Without going into the merits of proof or no proof, we feel that this is unfair on both men.
While we are convinced that the gentlemen at the Floriana Police Corps depot are carrying out their investigations as they should, we feel we ought to point out that this is a matter that does not only concern Malta, but the whole of Europe. Surely, a short press point giving a short statement would have been more beneficial than the current secrecy. We know Mr Dalli was questioned and we know Mr Zammit was questioned. We know they were at the depot and we know that they were questioned at length. The police is obliged to say why they were questioned. They are also obliged to show that the two men were treated within the parameters of the law in terms of questioning time and police custody time limits.
The police are also obliged to set our minds at rest. No matter what anyone thinks, this is a huge case – irrespective of innocence or guilt. Just like we see on foreign news programmes, the police should have given some information. Local journalists were piled outside the police depot yesterday and reports were scant and speculative – there was nothing else to report because of the information blackout. This is unacceptable. This is Malta, an EU country in 2012. The media blackout is something that is out of place in our society, after all, our law does state innocent until proven guilty.