Repubblika goes to court after being denied entry to parliament
Civil society group Repubblika have gone to the courts to get access to Malta's parliament. In a judicial protest filed on Thursday, the group said speaker Anġlu Farrugia and the clerk of the house Ray Scicluna are abusing of their power by not allowing members of the public into the parliament house to view proceedings. The group has repeatedly requested access to the strangers’ gallery, which is meant to be open to any member of the public that wants to watch parliamentary sittings from within the chamber. Parliament also offers an online streaming service and has a free television channel that airs sittings. Speaker Farrugia has argued that due to the pandemic it is not safe to allow members of the public into the viewing area that sits above the parliamentary chamber. The judicial protest says this is a “weak excuse” and goes against the standing orders which govern parliamentary procedure. It also constitutes a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights, the group is arguing. Refused access The NGO’s members tried to gain access to the House on Friday to watch an urgent debate that was held to discuss the findings of a public inquiry into the murder of...