Two brothers charged with murder in 2017 Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia pleaded guilty today on the first day of their trial in Valletta.

“They plead guilty,” said George and Alfred DeGiorgio’s lawyer, Simon Micallef Starface. The two defendants initially pleaded not guilty to charges that they built, planted and detonated the bomb that killed a journalist who, in a Running Commentary blog, denounced endemic corruption on the island. However, after an initial delay, they changed their statements and pleaded guilty in exchange for court leniency.

Paul Caruana Galizia, one of the journalist’s three sons, welcomed the guilty plea, calling it “a ray of light among the clouds.”

The death of a 53-year-old journalist on October 16, 2017 shocked the smallest country in the EU and caused consternation throughout Europe.

Deputy Prosecutor Philip Galea Farrugia asked the nine jurors to remain impartial. “Whatever you believe, it should not affect your decision” he stressed.

The trial is attended by many representatives of press freedom associations such as Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the European Center for Press and Media Freedom.

The journalist was killed in her car near her home hours after posting the following message: “There are corrupt people everywhere. The situation is desperate.”

Last year, the DeGiorgio brothers said they were ready to prosecute the former minister if they were pardoned, which ultimately did not happen.

George DeGiorgio confessed to the murder in July during interrogation, calling it “just a case”. The third defendant, Vincent Muscat, pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The district attorney said today that Muscat will testify at the trial of the two brothers.

Wealthy businessman Jorgen Fenech is in custody

Wealthy businessman Jorgen Fenech, who allegedly ordered the murder of a journalist, remains in custody but has not yet appeared in court and denies any involvement in the case.

The death of Daphne Caruana Galizia caused a scandal in the country and led to the resignation in January 2020 of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who was accused of trying to cover for his friends and political allies involved in the case. According to an investigation released in 2021, the state bears part of the responsibility for the murder of the journalist, mainly because it created a “climate of impunity” for those who wanted to silence her.

Much of the case is based on the testimony and phone records of the criminals’ broker, Melvin Theuma, who was pardoned by the president in exchange for the information he disclosed. He claims that Fenech, who led a consortium that won a government contract in 2015 to build a power plant, ordered the journalist’s murder. Fenech was arrested in November 2019.

Caruana Galizia revealed the existence of a “secret” company that was supposed to channel funds to other Panama-based companies owned by then Energy Minister Conrad Mizzi and Prime Minister Chief of Staff Keith Chebri.

There is no evidence that the money changed hands, but a Reuters investigation after the reporter’s death found that the company was owned by Fenech.

Source: APE/MEB