MALTA
Malta Independent
Updated: Court starts hearing Fr Charles Fenech case, victim’s testimony given behind closed doors
A court this morning started hearing evidence in the case against Dominican priest Fr Charles Fenech, 54, who faces sexual abuse charges.
At the start of today’s sitting, defence lawyer Michael Schriha asked the court to hear the case behind closed doors and said the courts usually did so in similar cases. Magistrate Tonio Micallef Trigona, however, said he was not interested in what usually happened and said he needed a good reason to bar the media from covering the proceedings.
The prosecution, led by Inspector Louise Calleja, said she was asking the court to hear the first witness behind closed doors but said she had no objections to the rest of the case being heard in public. There are around ten witnesses scheduled to give evidence today.
The court decided that the first witness, a victim, should testify behind closed doors. It is not yet clear if the rest of the witnesses will also be heard behind closed doors.
Fr Fenech was stopped from administering his responsibilities as a priest after The Malta Independent published a story naming him as the priest who is charged with alleged sexual abuse. He has also been removed from the post of director of the Kerygma Movement.
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