MaltaToday is reporting that Steward Health Care is requesting the government to investigate its editor Matthew Vella, with the media house saying that such a request "threatens the right to freedom of expression" and the right for the media to operate freely.
In another development, NGO Repubblika has slammed what it described as bullying tactics by Steward International against MaltaToday editor Matthew Vella.
MaltaToday has reported that Steward International, the private hospitals company, has written to the Maltese government demanding an investigation against MaltaToday journalist and editor Matthew Vella, over a report in this newspaper outlining the company’s ownership structure.
SCHI are accusing Vella of acting in collusion with a short seller – Viceroy Research – a company is calling into question the financing model of American real estate giant Medical Properties Trust (MPT) and its ownership-cum-relationship to Steward Systems in America, and SCHI.
Vella denies the claims, which he says are intended at tarnishing his reputation with malicious suggestions of wrongdoing. “This is a case of first-class bullying and an attack on the liberty of the Maltese press to report freely the critics of Steward. This is very worrying.”
In a statement, Repubblika said that it is unacceptable that the company, which is pocketing millions of euros from Maltese taxpayers, writes to the government to investigate the journalist for doing his duty to defend the interests of the Maltese people.
Journalists are a shield against corruption and abuse, the NGO said.
It added that government should take a clear stand against Stweard and condemn their request.
Mediatoday owner and director Saviour Balzan has also published an open letter calling on Prime Minister Robert Abela to make an "unequivocal, public statement in favour of freedom of information and against a SLAPP threat from hospitals concessionaire Steward Health Care International".
“What is being asked of the Maltese government threatens our right to freedom of expression and impart ideas, and the right of the press to operate freely, without an form of apparent hindrance,” Balzan said.
“Prime Minister: as the elected leader of an EU member state, we ask you to uphold the European values that inform the spirit of the EU’s current anti-SLAPP legislation and prevent Steward from leveraging its political influence to attack the free press.”
Balzan said that it was unheard of that a government is delegated the role to “investigate” a journalist, by a private company that is itself benefiting of millions in Maltese taxpayers’ funds to operate three state hospitals.
“Needless to say the role of the independent media and of free-thinking journalists is to transmit news about matters of public concern,” Balzan said. “The operation of this particular company, whose operations are funded by millions in annual disbursements from the Maltese State, is a matter of public interest; added to it the allegations of past misconduct and corruption, and it falls upon the free press to reveal facts and evidence about what this healthcare concession is costing the taxpayer.”