L-Atti tal-Inkjesta datata 19 ta' Novembru 2019, rigward skont it-Termini ta’ Referenza ta’ l- Inkjesta Pubblika dwar l- Assassinju ta’ Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Seduta miżmuma llum il-Gimgha 21 ta’ Frar 2020, fid-9:00 a.m. fit-Tieni Sular, Awla 20, il-Qorti.

Xhud Corinne Vella bil-lingwa Ingliza u bil-gurament taghha tghid :

Chairman Judge M Mallia :

You filed in these records some research that you had done regarding posts that had been uploaded or put on the internet by Neville Gafa`..

The Witness :

Yes.

Chairman Judge M Mallia :

And some of those are concerned photographs of your sister in .. as a witch and whatever. Neville Gafa` said that he got those posts – those pictures from somebody else; it wasn’t he that originated them. In your research did you ever come across of these pictures anywhere else?

The Witness :

I haven’t looked into that; I mean the pictures which I put in the dossier I had downloaded straight form his facebook the day that I presented the dossier in court. If necessary I will looked them up to see.

Judge A Lofaro :

I think it is better ..

The Witness :

I haven’t .. to look to the background ..

Chairman Judge M Mallia :

Just have a look, see if you can

The Witness :

Are we talking about specific photographs?

Chairman Judge M Mallia :

Those ehe.

Judge A Lofaro :

Where she is portrait as a beast or as a witch.

Chairman Judge M Mallia :

He said that he got those from somewhere else. In you research did they ever.. did you ever see them anywhere ….?

The Witness :

… I am seeing this, this one in particular the one ..

Judge A Lofaro :

The one where she is portrait like a type of monster, right?, a beast.

The Witness :

Yes. That would have to check the date. But this has been used in the secret facebook groups. I believe it is a photograph which The Shift also published in its report on the – the secret facebook groups ..

Judge A Lofaro :

Yes I saw the one on The Shift as well.

The Witness :

Now whether he took it from there or whether he posted it there that I can’t tell at face value just by looking at ..

Judge A Lofaro :

But it can be established in some way?

The Witness :

You would have to look at the date it appeared elsewhere and who published it. The fact that it appears here and appears somewhere else at an earlier date it does not mean he didn’t originate it!

Judge A Lofaro :

That’s why, that’s we would like to know.

The Witness :

To establish the origin of the photograph is very difficult based on the information which is available to me; you see.

Judge A Lofaro :

Yes.

The Witness :

The .., you can come closer to the origin by checking the date of the publication if you find multiple instances of this photograph. But I have no access to those facebook groups, they are closed. They don’t even appear to me if I run an online search, they are secret groups.

Judge A Lofaro :

Does any one you know have access? Maybe the editor of The Shift News?

The Witness :

She would have to answer that question herself. I understand she had people helping her on the article. Those people who did the e research would have access.

Dr Andrew Borg Cardona :

There were … within the group

Judge A Lofaro :

Ok. Yes she said ..

Dr Therese Comodini Cachia :

But I think from what I am understanding the witness to say is that it will only indicate to ask who published the photos first. It will not indicate to us who drew the photo or who compiled that photo.

The Witness :

Exactly.

Judge A Lofaro :

Maybe somebody had it before?

Dr Therese Comodini Cachia :

First date of publication is what we could establish.

The Witness :

The first date of publication does not indicate the origin of the photograph. If I may explain the context ot that is this. What I presented is face value information.

Judge A Lofaro :

Yes.

The Witness :

And as what everybody can see there is no deep analyses

Judge A Lofaro :

Yes I know that.

The Witness :

There is no in deep analyses. But the strategy used in the communication campaign is what you say in Maltese – li titfa’ il-gebla u tahbi idek. The ideal was to make this look as if it is spontaneous and normal. The person originating the campaign is invisible. We can only see the sequence of dates of publication. It will not tell us anything about the origin of the photograph. The data of that photograph embedded the photo maybe available to the platform which is facebook.

Judge A Lofaro :

We wanted to know where those pictures …showing as a witch ..

The Witness :

Yes..

Chairman Judge M Mallia :

The best you can make is tell us if that ..

The Witness :

What I can do is look what is publicly available.

Chairman Judge M Mallia :

…what is published.

The Witness :

What is publicly available. The Shift might have access ..

Judge A Lofaro :

The Shift might have more access.

The Witness :

I don’t know.

Judge A Lofaro :

Might.

The Witness :

Might.

The Witness :

I will check the dossier that Ms Muscat presented .

Judge A Lofaro :

Yes Ms Muscat

Dr Therese Comodini Cachia :

…to see it, it is the same photo, and I will check the date ….

Judge A Lofaro :

One of them is the same eh, for sure ..

Dr Therese Comodini Cachia :

I will double check the date.

The Witness :

This has been used elsewhere, but that is the nature of a campaign. Is that lots of people multiply the message and affirm it because when its multiplied it becomes normal.

Judge A Lofaro :

That’s why we want to know who originated that one.

The Witness :

Yes this. I did you also ask about this one? This one I have only seen twice both times on Neville Gafa’s facebook. But I haven’t search for it elsewhere.

Judge A Lofaro :

But there are others showing her as a witch.

The Witness :

Though there are loads.

Judge A Lofaro :

Exactly

The Witness :

There are loads, just one on facebook …

Dr Therese Comodini Cachia :

Yes it is ..

The Witness :

Yes. The idea was that.., the idea of these campaigns is that it is shard widely and it becomes normalize and you can no longer trace originally came up with it; that is the point of the campaign.

Judge A Lofaro :

But perhaps we can trace it.

The Witness :

Yes I try and look further back; but if it appeared in the facebook groups for the first time I have no access.

Chairman Judge M Mallia :

All right

Judge A Lofaro :

Thank you very much Ms Vella. Thank you

Din hija s-sustanza tax-xhieda ta’ Corinne Vella dettata minnha stess fil- prezenza ta’ l-istess xhud.

Niddikjara li traskrivejt bl-ahjar hila tieghi x-xhieda ta’ l-istess xhud.

Saviour Scicluna Traskrittur