VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — A Maltese jury has found two men, Jamie Vella and Robert Agius, guilty of complicity in the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Their verdict came after a six-week trial, which also covered another homicide, concluding on Thursday.
Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed on October 16, 2017, by a car bomb that detonated while she was driving near her home in Malta. The 53-year-old journalist was well-known for her extensive reporting on alleged corruption involving political and business figures on the island, making her murder a shock to Europe and igniting widespread protests in Malta.
Caruana Galizia had targeted several individuals within then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's inner circle, alleging their connections to offshore companies exposed in the Panama Papers leak. Additionally, she reported on corruption related to opposition figures. At the time of her assassination, she was facing more than 40 libel lawsuits.
In a statement following the verdict, Caruana Galizia’s family expressed that the ruling brings them closer to justice but highlighted the ongoing institutional failures that contributed to her murder, stating, “Yet, eight years after Daphne’s brutal assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed.”
In addition to the charges related to Caruana Galizia's murder, Vella and Robert Agius, along with two other men, George Degiorgio and Adrian Agius, faced charges connected to the murder of a lawyer named Carmel Chircop, who was shot and killed in 2015. Vella, Degiorgio, and Adrian Agius were found guilty of the charges related to Chircop's murder, while Robert Agius was acquitted.
The judge is expected to determine the sentencing for Vella and Agius at a later date. In a related case, George Degiorgio and his brother Alfred Degiorgio had pleaded guilty in 2022 to carrying out the murder of Caruana Galizia, and they each received a 40-year prison sentence.
Additionally, another man, Vincent Muscat, pleaded guilty in 2021 for his involvement in Caruana Galizia's murder and was sentenced to 15 years. He provided testimony during the recent jury trial after receiving a presidential pardon for his role in the Chircop murder, with the condition that he would disclose the complete truth.
Moreover, Yorgen Fenech, a prominent Maltese businessman, is currently out on bail as he awaits trial on charges of alleged complicity in the murder of Caruana Galizia. This ongoing legal framework highlights the complexity of the case and the significant impact of Caruana Galizia's work on Maltese society and beyond.
This verdict marks a significant moment in Malta's battle against corruption and the fight for justice following the assassination of a journalist whose life was dedicated to uncovering the truth.
