ROME – The confession of a partially blind assassin in the horrific murder of Maltese wandering journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has sparked a string of new arrests in the complex case.
On Tuesday, a Maltese judge accepted the striking plea of Vincent Muscat, 57, who had originally pleaded not guilty along with brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio for killing the car bomb that killed Galizia on a country road near her home in Malta. brought on the rags. October 2017. The brothers, who were also in the courtroom, upheld their innocent pleas in the case. Muscat’s lawyers say the change in tactics is part of a guilty plea that should put their client out of jail by 2027.
Muscat, who is blind in one eye after being shot up close in April 2014 in an attempted murder of vendetta, was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison, of which he has already served three years. He pleaded guilty to all six charges against him: the premeditated murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, which caused an explosion that resulted in the death of a person, the illegal possession of explosives, conspiracy to commit a crime, promotion of a group that intended to commit criminal acts, and participation in such a group. He was separately granted a presidential pardon in the 2015 assassination of attorney Carmel Circop, in which he provided important information after admitting he had peripheral involvement in the crime. The pardon does not affect the sentencing over Galicia.
Just moments after Muscat’s heartbreak was read by his lawyer in court, police entered a secret hideout of brothers Adrian and Robert Agius and accomplice Jamie Vella and arrested the trio for believing the bomb that killed Galizia has, provided. Police say more arrests are expected. On Wednesday, local media in Malta reported that three more arrests were imminent, including those with links to organized crime in Italy and Malta.
Galizia’s many investigative goals published on her blog Running Commentary, which according to her sons still receive thousands of hits a day, included the country’s then Prime Minister Joseph Muscat (no connection to Vincent). His wife was tied to the corrupt Pilate bank that was exposed in the Panama Papers. Since her assassination, journalists collaborating on Galizia’s original investigation under the Daphne project have discovered further links between the Maltese prime minister’s wife and the bank. Muscat resigned in 2019 under pressure over his associates’ alleged links to the murder.
The former prime minister’s aide, energy magnate Yorgen Fenech, who secretly owns 17 Black, a company that was a regular target for Galizia’s journalistic investigations, was arrested in December 2019 on his yacht on its way to Italy. He is charged with masterminding the murder and denies involvement. The preliminary hearing in his trial is expected to resume on March 18.
Fenech’s arrest came after taxi driver Melvin Theuma admitted he was a middleman between Fenech and the murder accused. Vincent Muscat’s plea agreement apparently includes evidence confirming the taxi driver’s claims. Fenech received a presidential pardon and full protection in exchange for his testimony. According to the Daphne Project Reporters Consortium, Galizia has received a locker of thousands of emails and documents linked to a company owned by Fenech. Investigators believe she was killed before she could reveal the contents of the documents.
The family of Galizia, who believe she was killed because she came too close to the crimes of Malta’s political elite, issued a cautious statement following Muscat’s plea. “This development will pave the way for total justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia,” they said, adding that her assassination destroyed her right to life and her right to enjoy her family and grandchildren born after her murder. “
The Galizia family’s lawyer read the statement in court. ‘The macabre murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia was intentional and could have been avoided. “The victim who was paid with her life and her family paid for the loss of their loved one,” he said. “I said it all today, because if Daphne’s family had to respond to the plea agreement based on their emotions, their response would be obvious.”
Maltese blogger Manuel Delia, who has written a book on the matter, warns that Vincent Muscat’s confession does not resolve the matter. ‘Muscat is at the very bottom of the cruel pick order of this mafia. He’s not even a button man. ‘He’s a gofer who saw things and remembered some of them, and at a time when he was imposing a possible life sentence, he used what he saw and remembers to negotiate a reduced sentence for himself,’ ‘ he said Tuesday. “Hearing his guilt is a small step in the sad, long and so far fruitless search for justice.”