A court today conditionally discharged a hunter who created a Facebook event encouraging people to attend a protest in Valletta on 21 September 2014 following the early closure of the autumn hunting season.

Christian Aquilina, 28, from Birkirkara, was conditionally discharged by Magistrate Aaron Bugeja for failing to notify the police in writing about the protest.

He was cleared of the more serious charges of associating himself with individuals with the scope of committing a crime, inciting a crime and inciting hatred against the Maltese government.

Mr Aquilina did not even attend the protest in question, which turned violent and saw hunters hurling a number of insults at the government and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

The Facebook event was created by Mr Aquilina the day before the protest, and the police attempted to speak to him that very day but failed to get in contact.

He was called in by the police the following morning. The police told him that they could not stop the protest, though it would be an illegal protest to a certain extent as he had not applied for the necessary permits.

Mr Aquilina tried to call off the protest by posting in a ‘Maltese Hunters’ Facebook group, saying the police had called him in and told him that the necessary permits had not been obtained.

The Magistrate acknowledged that at this point Mr Aquilina had been overtaken by events, and there was no way he could stop the protest.

The Magistrate ruled that there was no direct link between the Facebook event created by Mr Aquilina and the ensuing violence that took place during the protest.

He was conditionally discharged for three years.

Inspectors Daryl Borg, Jurgen Vella and Edel Camilleri prosecuted.