Zurrieq mayor Ignatius Farrugia as well as mother and daughter, Maria and Kimberly Vassallo, were found guilty of harassing columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

They were each fined €2,400 and ordered not to communicate with Ms Caruana Galizia or approach her for a period of one year, against a guarantee of €1,000 each.

The group was acquitted of physically assaulting her.

Ignatius Farrugia had followed Ms Caruana Galizia in Rabat on 29 March 2013, insulting her and chanting Malta Taghna Lkoll until she sought refuge in a convent. He made her presence known to third parties - the two women, and they joined in harassing her.

Meanwhile, Ms Caruana Galizia, who had blogged about the incident and faced charges of defamation against the two women, was acquitted on the grounds that her posts were “fair comment”.

Magistrate Francesco Depasquale said in his judgement, the accusations were with regard to posts and photos which were openly accessible online. While it is a person’s right to make photos and material public, they should be conscious that this can be subject to people’s comments and ridicule.

Lawyers Marion Camilleri and Chris Cilia appeared for Mr Farrugia and the two women. They will be filing an appeal.