Former Labour minister wants Daphne memorial cleared

A veteran lawyer and former minister has joined the legal dispute surrounding the makeshift memorial to slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, claiming that he too, as a Maltese citizen, has a right to safeguard the nation’s cultural heritage. In an application filed before the First Hall, Civil Court, Dr Joseph Brincat claimed that his right to freedom of expression entitled him to speak out and insist that the Great Siege monument, currently converted into a makeshift memorial by members of the public placing flowers, candles and pictures of the murdered journalist, always had “one sole significance.” After repeated efforts by workers from the public cleansing department to clear away the items of remembrance, the matter had ended up before the courts following a constitutional application filed by activist Manuel Delia, the first hearing of the case scheduled for the next week. Read: Removal of Caruana Galizia memorial was a breach of rights, court told “Manuel Delia cannot expect that his right is greater than that of the undersigned and many other Maltese, as had been established through official declarations under a multitude of administrations about the Great Siege...