A Swedish birdwatcher stopped her car multiple times outside a farmer's field gate after dark. He came out and challenged her. She reported him for threats. The court found no threat was made and acquitted him fully.
Court of Magistrates (Malta) — Criminal · Magistrate Dr. Monica Vella LL.D., M.Jur. · 21 February 2025
On 6 December 2022 at around 6pm near the Kuncizzjoni area in Rabat, Camilla Appelgren stopped her car multiple times outside the gate of Melvin Portelli's field. Portelli, having been robbed recently, came out concerned. He challenged her — asking why she kept stopping outside his property. Words were exchanged and he said something along the lines of 'well I'll come in front of your gate too.' She reported him for threats and harassment. The court conducted a detailed examination of the video footage provided by Appelgren. The court found multiple problems with her account: the video had no date or time stamp, her explanation for being there changed between her police report and court testimony, the persons in the video were not identifiable (darkness, faces barely visible for fractions of a second), the two police officers she cited as witnesses never testified, and crucially — Appelgren herself stayed at the scene, said 'I don't want to leave' to police on the phone, and walked toward the men rather than driving away. The court found that someone who was genuinely threatened would not behave as Appelgren did. The statement 'I will come in front of your gate' was simply him saying he would do the same as what she was doing — not a genuine threat. No third parties witnessed any disturbance. The acquittal was complete.
Fully acquitted of all charges — threats (Art. 339(1)(e)) and breach of the peace (Art. 338(dd)) both dismissed. The court found no threat was established and no public disturbance occurred.
Criminal Code Ch. 9 Arts. 338(dd) (breach of peace) and 339(1)(e) (threats) — both dismissed on the merits