PBS defies court order to stop broadcasting political adverts, PN says

The Nationalist Party said Thursday the national station PBS has defied a court order not to broadcast political adverts related to the budget.Last Monday, a court had accepted a request for a warrant of prohibitory injunction filed by the PN against

By: independent.com.mt

Oct 31 2024
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PBS defies court order to stop

The Nationalist Party said Thursday the national station PBS has defied a court order not to broadcast political adverts related to the budget.

Last Monday, a court had accepted a request for a warrant of prohibitory injunction filed by the PN against the airing of a budget-related advert.

Yet, PN secretary general Michael Piccinino said Monday, PBS had blatantly continued to broadcast political adverts, which are illegal in the country except in cases when they fall under the remit of the Broadcasting Authority.

Piccinino said that the law and a court order are clear in this regard and the PBS, funded by the taxpayer, should not break the law.

In spite of the court order, from Monday onwards, PBS kept on broadcasting the propaganda, adding that even the BA on Tuesday had issued a complaint against PBS. The PN had also resorted to taking legal action again on Thursday to inform the courts that the national station was breaching the order given Monday.

The PN asked the courts to stop this blatant illegality and for the PN to be given redress.

On his part, the PN's legal counsel Paul Borg Olivier pointed out that this was not the first time the PN took constitutional procedures against the PBS and One who were consequently found guilty of breaking the PN's right to freedom of expression. He added that in one such previous procedure, a judge had said that the time of "one voice" is over and that this is the reason that they have taken the PBS to court once again.