Labour is celebrating. It's just struck another huge victory to add to its long list. Jeremy Harbinson, the "star" witness in the case against Joseph Muscat, will not be pursued by the UK authorities to testify. There must be a very happy bunny in Burmarrad. Without testimony from that key witness the case against Muscat must surely fall apart.
Labour's coordinated intimidation of the prosecution's key witness has achieved its objective. The relentless harassment and vilification of Jeremy Harbinson left the court expert scared stiff. As early as February 2025 he commented "I fear for my safety...I have decided that I will never return to Malta". And who can blame him. Labour's ONE news broadcast at least 60 news items attacking the court expert over several months, 36 of those items featured images of Jeremy Harbinson. Joseph Muscat, the former Prime Minister, repeatedly discredited the magisterial inquiry findings and the work done by the court experts. Robert Abela himself attacked Jeremy Harbinson in an interview with Saviour Balzan. He accused the magistrate who led the inquiry of political terrorism. He publicly lambasted her for the search at Muscat's residence.
Jeremy Harbinson was right - "the experiences and insights I gained over the past seven years mean that I fear for my safety". Those safety concerns must have been magnified by the events of 2022 when the hotel room he was staying in was broken into and his passport stolen on one of his trips to Malta to work on the Muscat case. That's akin to finding a horse's head in your bed. Nothing could have made it clearer to Jeremy Harbinson that he was playing with fire.
He revealed that the "pressure and stress" he was subjected to over his involvement in Muscat's case affected both his wife's and his own mental health.
The prosecution practically based the entire case on the report drawn up by Jeremy Harbinson. The police carried out no investigation of its own. The case against Muscat was simply holding together through the evidence in Harbinson's report. So when Harbinson declared he would not return to Malta to testify the prosecution requested the court's permission to ask the British authorities to ensure Harbinson testified via video-conferencing.
Defence lawyers flew into a rage. They did not want Harbinson to testify. They insisted that the witness should not be allowed to testify remotely as that could "impinge" on their client's rights to a fair trial. But the court acceded to the request commenting that Harbinson's testimony was an "indispensable" part of the case. Defence lawyers then demanded a strict time limit on Harbinson's testimony. Well, now they won't need to worry - Harbinson is extremely unlikely to testify at all.
The UK authorities have informed the AG's office that they will not pursue Harbinson to testify. In a clear message to the AG, UK police have advised that they consider the case "closed". Harbinson presented the UK police an affidavit listing the reasons why he could not testify in the case against Muscat - and the UK police authorities accepted Harbinson's arguments. The AG's office did not reveal what those reasons were - but Harbinson made those reasons public before. He's scared for his life - he knows he's a target; he's terrified of coming anywhere near Malta. And now it seems he's also fled the UK to an undisclosed location.
Harbinson is sufficiently concerned about his safety that he was compelled to move. He had been fined 500 euro for failing to appear before the Criminal court. Labour media clamoured for his prosecution. Now the AG has asked the court to take "all the necessary measures in these circumstances". One of the defence lawyers asked the court to evaluate whether Harbinson's behaviour constitutes a breach under article 332, which provides for the court to order the arrest of the witness and to jail him for 3 months and impose a hefty fine.
Despite facing such dire consequences Harbinson is adamant he will never return to Malta and will not testify. That alone is indicative of the state of terror Harbinson is in. He knows that providing evidence in court that might lead to conviction jeopardises his own safety. Harbinson knows that the evidence he has collected in his report is damning. He knows exactly what was going on behind the scenes. He made it crystal clear that the report was solid - "the report to the inquiry was of the highest quality and I stand behind the findings and opinions set out in it", he declared.
One defence lawyer urged the court to use its powers against Harbinson, implying that Harbinson had committed a criminal offence. The AG's lawyers also solicited the court to take all steps against Harbinson. But nobody asked the court to protect the witness. Nobody asked the court to consider the intense level of witness intimidation that Labour orchestrated against him for months on end. Harbinson can see that he has no protection.
Complicit in that witness intimidation is Prime Minister Robert Abela who publicly disparaged the prosecution's case, casting serious doubts about the process. As leader of the Labour party he's also allowed his party media to persist with its repeated attacks on Harbinson. Even Harbinson's wife and her health situation weren't spared by Labour's ONE news.
Harbinson knows very well what happens in Malta to those who uncover inconvenient truths about powerful people. He's been left in no doubt what the most powerful person in Malta and his predecessor feel about him. Harbinson has got the message - quietly disappear and don't even dream of testifying.
One thing is certain - Labour has scored another huge success. Its mission is accomplished.