Draft:Daniel Xuereb

Daniel Xuereb is a stand-up comedian from Malta born in 1992.

He first hit the headlines when he was taken to court by River of Love church pastor Gordon-John Manche in April 2023 for insulting him in a joke made on stage during a live comedy show. River of Love is a Pentecostal evangelical Christian group based in Santa Lucija, Malta. In the 100-second social media clip posted in March of that year, Xuereb is heard referring to Manche as "Malta's biggest arsehole". The joke was made in the wake of a sermon given by the pastor in which he claimed to his followers that anal sex was "a sin", "an abomination" and led to "demonic forces" being introduced to one's life. In June 2023, Xuereb was issued with two charges by Maltese police: insulting Manche and "misusing electronic equipment to share those threats". The outcome of Xuereb's action, Manche asserted, had had a negative impact on him and his family. In addition, he said that the comedy skit that Xuereb posted on social media "encourages violence." He also issued a warning to journalists saying that they should be careful when writing articles, titles and choosing pictures of him.

Manche's legal fees were covered by the Maltese taxpayer while Xuereb received free legal help from the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation Network via the Public Interest Litigation Network (PILN)

Xuereb is the 2nd comedian in Malta to have been accused of making fun of Manche after Matthew Bonnano, owner of satirical news site Bis-Serjeta, suggested in a Facebook comment that the River of Love church should be relocated to another town and be carpet bombed in January 2022. He faces the same charges as Xuereb.

In June 2023, Teatru Malta's artistic director Sean Buhagiar was questioned by police after repeating Daniel Xuereb's quip in a social media post. In it, he defended Xuereb, Bonnano and the right to freedom of speech, asking Manche to "kindly refrain from interfering with satire." He became the third person with a public profile to be reported to police by the pastor. In the same month, Malta's Culture Minister Owen Bonnici said it was unacceptable for individuals to abuse the law to try to stifle artists.

In November 2023, a further criminal charge was made against Daniel Xuereb but the nature of it remained unknown, with the case being deferred to March 1st of the following year. This was a blow to artistic freedom of expression, which the Maltese government had sought to protect with extra layers of legislation in July.

Sentencing took place at the Court of Justice in Valletta on 16th May 2024 by Magistrate Kevan Azzopardi who found Xuereb "not guilty". He urged caution in the exercise of the right to free expression "in order not to have it chip away at other people's expression of that same right." Xuereb avoided being fined 10,000 euros or a jail term of up to two years.