Racist comments on Facebook provokes landmark judgment

A man who had been acquitted of charges of incitement to racial hatred, after targeting a Maltese Muslim girl through a foul-mouthed post has been handed a suspended sentence by the court of criminal appeal. Brandon Bartolo, 28, had reacted to an article by social inclusion campaigner Sara Ezabe who had commented about a foreign court’s decision banning the hijab at the workplace. The accused was writing on the anti-migrant Għaqda Patrijotti Maltin’s Facebook page. Ms Ezabe, a 21 year-old Muslim student who had founded the #RedefiningUs movement and who is also a commissioner of the National Youth Council in Malta, had contacted the police after reading racist comments made in her regard on Facebook. Read: Maltese anti-hate speech activist listed among Forbes Top 30 Mr Bartolo had resorted to foul language, saying among others “they’re (migrants) guests, they have to abide by our laws and if they don’t like it f… off back to your country,” thereby promoting a complaint by Ms Ezabe to the police. Mr Bartolo was duly prosecuted, admitting in the proceedings, that the comments had been posted by him. The alleged victim was never summoned to testify in the proceedings before the...