Malta trial: €400k paid for convicted hitmen's legal costs

A high-profile trial is underway in Malta concerning the 2017 car bombing of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The businessman accused of commissioning her murder, Yorgen Fenech, is alleged by prosecutors to have paid over €400,000 for the legal defense of the hitmen convicted in the case. These hitmen, brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio, have already been sentenced to 40 years each for voluntary homicide after pleading guilty.

Prosecutors outlined their case, stating that a taxi driver acted as an intermediary, transferring funds to the bombers on Fenech's behalf. The Degiorgio brothers reportedly received €150,000 to carry out the bombing and further sums afterward, including for their legal representation. The court heard that the legal bills were paid in the months following their December 2017 arrest.

Daphne Caruana Galizia was a prominent journalist known for exposing corruption. Her legacy remains a subject of public debate in Malta. The lead prosecutor urged the jury to consider her humanity, emphasizing that she was a citizen, mother, and daughter killed because of her work, regardless of opinions on her writing.

The trial also presented graphic details of the assassination, including witness accounts of the explosion and the forensic evidence suggesting a petrol container was attached to the bomb to ensure Caruana Galizia's death. Fenech denies the charges of complicity in voluntary homicide. The trial is ongoing, with two of Caruana Galizia's sons expected to testify.