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Two brothers were sentenced on Friday (October 14th) to 40 years in prison each for the 2017 murder of Maltese anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, on the first day of their trial in the Maltese capital Valletta. A few hours earlier, they had pleaded guilty to having manufactured, planted and detonated the bomb that killed the 53-year-old journalist in her car.
George and Alfred Degiorgio were found guilty of making, planting and detonating the bomb that killed the journalist in his car. The latter denounced in her blog Running Commentary the endemic corruption in this small Mediterranean archipelago, a former British colony that entered the European Union in 2004. Her death at the age of 53, on October 16, 2017, had strongly shaken the smallest state of the European Union and horrified its neighbours.
Deputy prosecutor Philip Galea Farrugia asked the jury, made up of nine people, to respect their duty of impartiality. ” Daphne Caruana Galizia was well known and some may agree with her, some may nothe noted. Whatever your sympathies, they should not affect your decision. »
Several representatives of press freedom defense associations were present at the trial, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the European Center for Press and Media Freedom.
The journalist was killed near her home just hours after posting this message: “ There are corrupt people everywhere. The situation is desperate. »
Threat to implicate a minister
The Degiorgio brothers said they were ready last year to implicate a former minister in exchange for a pardon, which they were ultimately refused. George Degiorgio had already first confessed to the assassination during an interrogation in July, calling it ” just business ».
A third man implicated in the murder, Vincent Muscat, pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He will testify at this trial, the deputy prosecutor said on Friday.
The wealthy businessman suspected of ordering the murder, Jorgen Fenech, has not yet been judged. He denies any involvement.
The death of Daphne Caruana Galizia caused a scandal in the country, notably leading to the resignation in January 2020 of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, accused of trying to cover up his friends and political allies splashed by this murder.
According to a public inquiry, the results of which were published in 2021, the Maltese state bears some responsibility for the murder of the journalist, in particular for having created a ” climate of impunity for those who wanted to shut her up.
(With AFP)