On Tuesday, the Maltese courts did exactly what one expects them to do in a clear-cut case of domestic violence: they refused a woman’s request to drop charges against her 69-year-old husband, who stands accused of raping her, holding her against her will, harassing her, causing her to fear violence, assaulting and insulting her.
Magistrate Nadine Sant Lia rightly brushed aside the victim’s sudden plea to withdraw her complaint, understanding that victims are often pressured into silence, made to feel guilty, or forced to carry shame that does not belong to them.
The accused was denied bail. Justice, for once, took precedence over excuses.
Nadine Lia
But rewind just a few days, and you’ll find a very different courtroom standard — one that reeks of privilege, impunity, and blatant two weights, two measures.
We’re talking about Notary Robert Aquilina, Malta’s self-declared guardian of “rule of law”, who found himself in the dock facing accusations of domestic violence and the illegal arrest of his own wife.
In his case, Jeanette Aquilina, the same as so many battered wives, tried to drop the charges. And this time, Magistrate Lara Lanfranco happily obliged. The charges were suspended. The excuse? Mrs. Aquilina’s testimony that this was a “purely family matter”, even though a police risk assessment had concluded her life and safety were in serious danger.
Worse yet, sources confirm this was not a one-off but part of an ongoing cycle of abuse, hidden neatly behind the grandstanding persona Robert Aquilina sells to the cameras.
So what exactly is the difference?
– Both women wanted to drop the charges.
– Both men were accused of violence in their own home.
– But one husband remains in jail awaiting justice.
– The other, Robert Aquilina got a free pass to go back to his stage and lecture the nation about morals and corruption.
Two weights, two measures. It’s that simple.
Is this the new face of impunity? Is Robert Aquilina above the law because he wraps himself in the “rule of law” banner, the same banner his so-called hero, Daphne Caruana Galizia, used to enjoy while protecting her inner circle from scrutiny?
This case lays bare an uncomfortable truth: in Malta, justice is not blind — it picks and chooses its targets.
And if you are Robert Aquilina, apparently, your private violence is “family business”, while everyone else’s is a crime.
This is not justice. This is hypocrisy with a black robe and a gavel.
Stay tuned. This portal will not stop exposing Robert Aquilina and those who hide behind “activism” to dodge the consequences of their own crimes.
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1 Comment
The Aquilina case got off the line by a magistrate bla-BAJT who was terified of the concequensis of assuing an arrest warant.