Two men jailed for life for procuring bomb that killed Malta journalist
FILE PHOTO: People hold up photos of late anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia during a protest march on the sixth anniversary of her assassination, in Valletta, Malta October 16, 2023. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo
VALLETTA (Reuters) -Two men were jailed for life by a Maltese judge on Tuesday for having supplied the bomb that killed anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017.
Caruana Galizia's murder shocked Malta and caused outrage across Europe, ultimately leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in 2019.
Robert Agius and Jamie Vella were convicted on Friday, with jurors reaching an 8-1 verdict after a trial that lasted more than six weeks concluded that they supplied the explosive material for money. The two defendants pleaded not guilty.
Their sentence was delivered on Tuesday, after lawyers' submissions on punishment.
Caruana Galizia was killed on October 17, 2017, when a bomb placed under the driver's seat of her car blew up as she was driving away from her home.
Another two men, brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio, are serving 40-year jail terms after admitting to having set off the bomb. A third man, Vince Muscat, who also admitted his role in the murder, is serving 15 years after turning state's evidence and testifying against the Degiorgios, and also against Agius and Vella.
He described meetings in a coffee shop to plan the murder and how the military-grade bomb was procured, carried in a children's shoe box and placed in Caruana Galizia's car. It was set off by remote control from a yacht.
The alleged murder mastermind, one of Malta's leading businessmen, is awaiting trial and a court has banned media references to him so as not to influence potential jurors.
(Reporting by Christopher Scicluna, editing by Alvise Armellini and Alex Richardson)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Argentina ban on former president Kirchner reshapes political landscape
Former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner stands at the balcony of her home after Argentina's Supreme Court upheld her guilty verdict for defrauding the state, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Tomas Cuesta/File Photo BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -Argentina's supreme court has effectively banned former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner from government, a move that poses both a challenge and an opportunity for the opposition Peronist party ahead of crunch midterm elections this year. The court upheld a six-year jail term against Kirchner for graft on Tuesday, barring one of the country's most high-profile politicians from holding public office. In the short-term, the decision may enable libertarian President Javier Milei to cement his power base in the October midterm vote, but over the long run it could help revamp the Peronist movement, which was Argentina's most powerful political bloc for decades before being ousted by outsider Milei in 2023. Kirchner, a two-term president from 2007-2015 and a senator and vice president from 2019-2023, faces the possibility of jail time. She will likely be able to push for house arrest because of her age, 72, and the court will decide within five working days whether to grant that request. But she will not be able to run as a legislative candidate in the midterm elections in the province of Buenos Aires, a Peronist stronghold, as she had planned. Nonetheless, the leftist Kirchner, the president and one of the leaders of the Peronist party, may still be able to pull political strings given her strong popular support, especially if she remains out of jail. "Cristina will continue her political career; that's why she's choosing to stay in Buenos Aires, in her department of San José," a source close to the former president told Reuters. Kirchner did not respond to a Reuters interview request. 'MARTYRED LEADER' Peronists are divided over whether her political ban will help the movement reinvent itself or if she will cast an even longer shadow than before, hurting up-and-comers like Buenos Aires governor Axel Kicillof who have clashed with her. "This is detrimental to the renewal, because she's now the martyred leader. She's the center of attention," said a source from Kicillof's Buenos Aires provincial government. Kirchner still enjoys significant popular support from close to 30% of the population, polls show, although she is highly divisive - in part due to the corruption cases against her - and would likely struggle to win election. Analysts said that the court ruling could ultimately allow for the party's modernization, at a time some of its leaders, like Kicillof, claim Peronism as a movement is being banished. "For Peronism, it represents the possibility of renewal. Kicillof is playing the victim and, at the same time, becoming independent," said political scientist Andrés Malamud. The ban against Kirchner will take some of the sting out of her bitter rivalry with Milei, but a new more moderate challenger from the Peronist left could hurt the Argentine president if he slips up. "If Milei can keep the economy steady, nothing will happen, but if this doesn't work, it will probably strengthen Kicillof," said analyst Mariel Fornoni from consultancy Management & Fit. The latest polls showed a tie in the important province of Buenos Aires between Milei's La Libertad Avanza and the Peronist opposition for the midterm elections, according to data from the Electoral Observatory. Victory would not give the ruling party a majority in either chamber of Argentina's Congress, but a larger number of legislators would make it easier for the government to approve privatizations of public companies and tax and labor reforms. "Cristina's conviction gives the government a campaign argument it didn't have. Now it won't need to discuss the economic model," said the Buenos Aires government source. (Reporting by Nicolás Misculin, with additional reporting by Lucila Sigal; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Nia Williams)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Disorder breaks out in Northern Ireland for third straight night
A riot police officer stands guard while demonstrators gather as riots continue in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne BALLYMENA, Northern Ireland (Reuters) -Public disorder broke out in Northern Ireland for the third successive night on Wednesday with videos and pictures on social media purportedly showing a fire in a leisure centre in the town of Larne after masked youths smashed the building's windows. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the clips. Hundreds of masked rioters attacked police and set homes and cars on fire 33 kilometres (20 miles) west in Ballymena during the previous two nights in what police condemned as "racist thuggery." Thirty-two officers were injured. Riot police and armoured vans blocked roads in Ballymena on Wednesday evening as a crowd of around 200 people watched on. Two rocks were thrown at a police van and one person kicked the bonnet of a police van, a Reuters witness said. The police vans slowly moved towards the crowd who were warned over a loud speaker to disperse immediately as force was "about to be used against violent individuals." The violence initially erupted after two 14-year-old boys were arrested and appeared in court, accused of a serious sexual assault on a teenage girl in Ballymena, located 45 kilometres (28 miles) from Belfast. The charges were read via a Romanian interpreter to the boys, whose lawyer told the court that they denied the charge, the BBC reported. Police are investigating the damaging of property in Ballymena as racially-motivated hate crimes. (Reporting by Conor Humphries and Amanda Ferguson; Writing by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
British and Spanish PMs agree Gibraltar deal unlocks 'huge opportunity'
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez attends a bilateral meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the European Political Community meeting at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Britain, Thursday, July 18, 2024. Kin Cheung/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a phone call with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, agreed that a deal on the status of Gibraltar unlocked the opportunity for both countries to advance bilateral relationship, Starmer's office said on Wednesday. "Prime Minister Sánchez congratulated the Prime Minister on his leadership," a Downing Street spokesperson said. "Both leaders also agreed that this development unlocks huge opportunity to advance the bilateral relationship between the UK and Spain, on behalf of the British and Spanish people." Starmer also spoke to Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo, the spokesperson said, adding that they both agreed the agreement would allow them to "plan for the long-term while protecting British sovereignty." (Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by Leslie Adler)
