Civil society activist Manuel Delia has been awarded €1,000 in libel damages after a court found that two blog posts by Professor Simon Mercieca were defamatory.

The case revolved around claims made by Mercieca in which he accused Delia - who served as chief of staff to former Nationalist Minister Austin Gatt - of deliberately obstructing a deal to transfer the Mediterranean Film Studios in Kalkara to Keith Schembri nearly two decades ago.

Mercieca alleged that Delia acted out of "greed" and described his conduct as "mafia-like." He also labelled Delia, currently active with the NGO Repubblika, as a "hypocrite."

Magistrate Rachel Montebello, presiding over the case, found the statements to be defamatory and said that Mercieca had relied on false, exaggerated, or unreliable sources. The court also criticised Mercieca for failing to publish Delia's right of reply in an appropriate manner.

As a result, Mercieca was fined €300 in addition to the damages awarded.