The owner of the Stable Pub in Valletta today filed a judicial protest against blogger and columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia and PN Deputy Leader Beppe Fenech Adami, threatening to sue them for libel over their descriptions of the bar frequented by Economy Minister Chris Cardona.
Jason Azzopardi (not the Nationalist MP) said Mrs Caruana Galizia’s allegations, which were repeated in a press conference by Dr Fenech Adami, insinuate that drug-taking and criminal activities are associated with the premises.
Mr Azzopardi took issue with the descriptions used by Mrs Caruana Galizia, including the terms such as “a heavy scene, heaving with shady-looking men, Valletta heavies and a couple of others who really should not have been there.” He also took exception with the phrase “powdering your nose means something else altogether and that you should never go to the loo in this sort of place because of that.”
Mrs Caruana Galizia wrote that she went to the bar to seek out Silvan Fenech, to ask him if it was true that he was offering Dr Cardona free accommodation at a property he owns at Portomaso. The Minister denies the allegation and earlier this week presented what he said was the rent contract. The Opposition claims the contract – published four hours after a parliamentary sitting during which Dr Cardona did not deny the allegation - is “peculiar.”
In the judicial protest, Mr Azzopardi strongly denied the claims made by Mrs Caruana Galizia, describing them as “completely untrue, unfounded, false and defamatory” and as causing damage to the pub’s reputation.
Mr Azzopardi claimed the allegations are causing financial losses. The claims, he said, were also made by Beppe Fenech Adami during a press conference held on Tuesday. The pub owner said he would hold Mrs Caruana Galizia and Dr Fenech Adami responsible for commercial damages and reserved his right to sue them for libel.
He also reserved the right to institute proceedings against the editors and authors from media houses that had mentioned these allegations in their respective news reports.
The judicial protest was signed by lawyer Alexander Schembri.