I am an accredited journalist and Editor of the News Portal called PM News Malta, which operates out of its studios on the Island of Malta, in the Mediterranean, and through its online portal. PM News is making this clip in order to introduce ourselves to listeners outside the Maltese Islands and to give them our story.Introducing myself: I am 45 years and I am a self-employed entrepreneur, as well as a guitarist and songwriter who performs in a duo band called Meadowstrings.This most recent adventure kicked off in 2020 with the advent of the Covid era.Early in 2020, I started posting frequently on Facebook about the possibility of seeing strict and draconian regulations that had started to surface in China also surface elsewhere. At first, most people were just bemused by such posts.
The first draconian restrictions were imposed in the Maltese Islands in March 2020 and it was then that people started to realise that such posts were not so outlandish after all.
Initially, I was not opposed to what was happening until I started learning more about the public health scare, the potential global effects of these measures, the effects such limits could or would have on our citizens, the impact on rising food costs, and other basic needs affecting poverty levels, and the impact on people’s rights and civil liberties, which form the backbone a free society.
I did a lot of research and listened to all sides of the scientific and legal debates; many doctors and lawyers supported the restrictions, while very few opposed them. These included the mandating of masks at all times, even when out all alone in the wilderness, lockdowns, closure of shops, offices, and borders, even between islands, PCR tests, and blocking of access to the elderly in homes by their loved ones.
Back in April 2020, I was watching a video of Italian Professor, Dr. Stefano Montanari, a nano pathologist and Scientific Director of the nanodiagnostics laboratory in Modena, explaining the basic concepts of masks and how RNA viruses function. He was also talking about the upcoming vaccine, saying that it could not possibly be a one-time shot and would need to be repeated multiple times because coronavirus is a virus that is constantly mutating by nature. as far as I can remember at the same time, our own concerned authorities of Health was claiming that this would be a one-off shot with a possible booster, like many other vaccines.Being concerned, I began to question, conduct information, discuss what I learned, and post my findings on my social media platforms.
I made the decision not to get the experimental shot because I did not want to take the risk at this early stage when it was still too early to know of all the potential side effects, and also because I enjoyed good health. I also noticed that the overwhelming majority of those who tested positive for the virus in Malta and died were extremely old, mostly over 85, or had serious underlying medical conditions. In those first few months when the disease was rife in Europe, in Malta there were simply no fatalities amongst the healthy population, be it young or old.
I can explain that in the past I have taken a number of vaccines before, but I was never put under any duress to take any. All the vaccines I had taken had been on the market for years. Though I am against any form of labelling a person, were I to label myself, I would call myself a free vaxxer, and I am pro fully informed consent. I believe that people should not be forced to take any medical procedure or medicine by imposing upon them any draconian measures or restrictions. This should be a matter of free choice for everyone, as is reflected in fundamental rights of patients. Traditionally nothing could be imposed upon you in a hospital, without your free consent. Why has this suddenly changed even for healthy people going about their daily lives? I have spoken out for this principle and for the freedom of speech which also was being suppressed during the Covid era and still is to date.
Then I read that the government may begin requiring the vaccine, that those who refuse will eventually face consequences and exclusion from society in a variety of settings, including stores, hotels, restaurants, theatres, and other public spaces, and that a Covid pass would be established. All of this eventually occurred in Malta, Europe, and many other regions of the world.
Let me tell you that there was only one Maltese doctor I met who was against these restrictions at the beginning of 2021. It wasn’t until 2021 that I first heard about this Medic, Dr. Jean Karl Soler MD Ph.D. I interviewed him later that year.
In May-June 2021, we started interviewing Dr Jean Karl Soler, a Maltese doctor who was speaking out against the dominant narrative. Approximately in July 2021, the Medical Council received a complaint about this family doctor from the Superintendent of Public Health Profs. Charmaine Gauci regarding a number of Facebook posts that she perceived as being critical of the administration’s approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, the case against him was dropped because Dr.Soler has always presented his opinions solely based on scientific studies which he always refers to.
Following this, we contacted a Maltese Attorney named Dr. Rodolfo Ragonesi who was representing a number of persons organizing the first and only constitutional case in Malta to challenge the constitutional validity of the harsh and disproportionate COVID restrictions still being applied on the Islands in mid-2021. This constitutional case is currently pending before the Constitutional Court of Malta.
I should add that no other news portal had ever interviewed Dr. Soler or Attorney Dr. Ragonesi prior to us. Furthermore, the local media has chosen to boycott any coverage of the pending Constitutional case and all the expert evidence that has been submitted as if to indicate that this is not in any way in the public interest. To date, PM News Malta is the only news portal to keep the public informed of the progress of this case, which is the most important constitutional case in the Maltese Islands for many years.
In August 2021, Dr. Soler was interviewed by Times of Malta; no other doctors wanted to participate in this interview or freely express their opposing viewpoints, so it had to be conducted solely by the presenter and only one-on-one with Dr. Soler.
In that same year, Malta Today invited Attorney Dr. Ragonesi to speak on the safety of the new covid vaccines, but then withdrew its invitation when no doctor or public health official accepted to speak at the same debate. The Times Interview of Dr. Soler only occurred after a significant demonstration against the Covid measures being imposed was held in Malta’s Capital, Valletta on July 24, 2021. Despite the prohibition by the Commissioner of Police to hold a protest, on the basis not of public order, but of public health, the demonstration attracted a large crowd, and the streets of Valletta were filled up with protesters. I attended the protest to document it for the records of PM News.
I covered three demonstrations against children’s draconian Covid measures like school masks.
I was contacted by the police in December 2021 regarding a Facebook post that, it was claimed, offended someone. I was asked to explain what had happened. The Police then called me again in January 2022 for another post I had done and I was even formally arrested by means of an issue of a warrant of arrest and interrogated. I was released the same day after answering all of the police’s questions.
After all of this, Rita and I launched the PM News Portal and obtained all the necessary accreditation as journalists. We launched a live show where we could carry remote interviews with various people and talk about a variety of topics, touching on politics, health care, and civil liberties. We did all of this in accordance the laws on free speech and with the goal of re-establishing more media balance which we saw as being very seriously eroded, with all media pushing the official narratives.
Since other media haven’t given us a voice, we decided to start one for ourselves and other people who think like us. We also wanted to achieve a balance and demonstrate what libertarian media should look like. Our guiding principles are that everyone should have the opportunity to express themselves, regardless of who they are or what their personal beliefs are.
We also created a Facebook page, and everything was going well until we went to cover and stream a Maltese political event created by the Maltese rights group Imperium Ewropa, with which we have nothing to do, but as we had planned, we were granting everyone the right to free speech. This event was held in front of the court with legal permits obtained from the police.
After that, our page began to gain a lot of followers, and this video quickly attracted almost 40,000 views, which is impressive for a small nation like ours. We also published an article on our website, which I shared on the Facebook page, but after a few weeks, Facebook first banned us, claiming that we had given a dangerous organization a platform.
Then, after a few more days, the second ban came about the article we shared of the same event.
The third ban then came after we made a Live-stream of another Maltese party, the Nationalist Party, presently being the opposition in the Maltese parliament and it so happened that in the background there was some music being played during the live.
Facebook claimed that we had violated copyright, leading to the closure of the Pmnews Malta Facebook page and the permanent loss of all content, and even though we were admins we were unable to retrieve any of the lost content.
We sent FB an email and made our request, but until today, nothing was done. Lately, We decided to create a new Facebook page, and for now, it is still active.
Something about Matthew’s story. All I can say is that during our discussion program, we granted Matthew the right to expression and freedom of speech, if you read the script, it was just a discussion like we usually do in other programs. As you are aware, we are unable to discuss it in great detail because the case is Sub-Judice and we could easily prejudge the case, so we intend to be as careful and cautious as possible.
We will be charged with a crime on February 3rd. We will defend ourselves and our freedom of speech.
Rita Bonnici Story:
PM News Malta from where it all started-