Karl Azzopardi’s articles reveal that Yorgen Fenech did not sign the petition for the return of Alex Dalli

I will not enter into the narrative provided by Manuel Delia and the mainstream media that most of the prisoners were forced to sign the petition in favour of Alex Dalli.  

Yet, when I started writing about Alex Dalli, I was accused by Manuel Delia’s friends that I was doing so because Alex Dalli was giving Yorgen Fenech preferential treatment. Therefore, Yorgen Fenech had a vested interest for Alex Dalli to remain director so that he would continue enjoying the alleged benefits and privileges given to him by Colonel Dalli.

Meanwhile, I must acknowledge that Colonel Dalli eradicated all substance abuse from our prisons. For this reason, I am interested that all views are represented with correctness and fairness. A lot of fake news has been circulated about Corradino prison. The story of the petition is a case in point.

I was the first to have reported that a petition was going round among the prisoners in support of Alex Dalli. I was also the first to have reported that some prisoners had started a hunger strike in prison in support of Alex Dalli.

These stories led some of Manuel Delia’s followers to go on Facebook or/and Twitter and accused me that I was writing these stories because Yorgen Fenech was being given preferential treatment by Alex Dalli. These same individuals have even written that Yorgen Fenech was one of the inmates who was on hunger strike in support of Alex Dalli. Both stories are not true.

I don’t know whether Yorgen Fenech has signed the petition or not. But from what has been reported by Karl Azzopardi, I can now conclude that Yorgen Fenech is not among those who have signed the petition.

Karl Azzopardi reported that there were some divisions whose inmates did not sign the petition. One of the divisions named was Division 17, where Yorgen Fenech is being kept. I will not go into the matter of why Fenech is being kept in Division 17, as otherwise I will be accused of conspiracy theories. But according to Karl Azzopardi, all the inmates of Division 17 did not sign the petition. Thus, I will leave it to the readers to conclude whether Yorgen Fenech was one of those who signed the petition to have Alex Dalli reinstated as prison director or not.  

Honestly, I don’t think that it was ethical of Karl Azzopardi to give the number of divisions whose inmates did not sign the petition, but as he has given the numbers, then one is free to make his or her own conclusions.

Readers should be reminded that, in the past, the media has carried reports that Alex Dalli was seen walking with Yorgen Fenech in prison and that Yorgen Fenech was somehow being privileged in prison.

The stories by Karl Azzopardi that Division 17 did not sign the petition continue to confirm how the media invents or twists stories to substantiate its own agenda. In this case, for different reasons, the media is only interested in damaging the reputation of both Yorgen Fenech and Colonel Alex Dalli.

The truth is that those journalists who today are writing about the alleged bad conditions in the prison do not really care about the prisoners. When, Yorgen Fenech was kept for six weeks in solitary confinement – immediately after being admitted to prison – none of these journalists ever batted an eyelid. One needs to remember that Fenech was admitted into prison because the court denied him bail. Furthermore, it was his first time in prison. He must really have had stamina to endure six weeks in solitary confinement. Such conditions could have driven any person insane. After those six weeks, Yorgen Fenech was transferred to Division 17.

For these journalists, Yorgen Fenech could have died in prison. They did not care. On the contrary, they carried a campaign of character assassination against him. This is why I am writing about these issues because I am sick and tired of all this media hypocrisy in Malta.