Jason Azzopardi wins €1,000 in libel damages over Facebook post

Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi has been awarded €1,000 in libel damages over allegations made on Facebook that the politician used to meet “a working girl at Portomaso.” Azzopardi had filed a defamation suit following the Facebook post uploaded by Vincent Borg, known as Censu l-Iswed, last August at a time when rival PN factions regularly posted comments in the run-up to the party leadership race. That post consisted of a set of 13 questions, one of which addressed to “the Honourable Jason Azzopardi,” implying that the politician, branded as one of the “rebel” anti-Delia group, used to meet a prostitute at the St Julian’s hotel. Borg later edited the post, removing the reference to Azzopardi and he claimed that he was asking those questions “in the name of the members of PN.” When testifying in court in February, the activist insisted that as a PN member at the time, he felt “entitled” to ask such questions, pointing out that other MPs had offered answers. Azzopardi had not replied but had sued for libel instead. When delivering judgment on Monday, Magistrate Rachel Montebello declared that it was “not at all convinced” by Borg’s argument that the reference to “working girl” was...