A Maltese court on Tuesday charged three men with the car-bomb slaying of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, as details from the investigation indicated she was killed by a remote-controlled explosion of TNT.
Seven other Maltese men were released on bail pending further investigation.
The arrests on Monday of the 10 men was the first breakthrough in the Oct. 16 killing that shocked the Mediterranean island and led the European Parliament to send a delegation on a fact-finding mission related to the rule of law in Malta.
The three main suspects, who all had previous police records, arrived under heavy police escort at the court late on Tuesday and pleaded innocent to the charges, which included murder and possession of explosive material. They were represented by a court-appointed lawyer.
Peter Caruana Galizia, the victim’s husband, attended the hearing.
Daphne Caruana Galizia, 53, was a leading investigative reporter whose exposes focused on corruption, drug trafficking and scandals involving Malta’s elite. She also wrote about Maltese links to the Panama Papers leaks about offshore financial havens.
She was killed when a bomb blew up in her car she drove near her home.
Ahead of the arraignment, officials with knowledge of the investigation said FBI equipment helped in the collection of “electronic communication evidence” that led to the suspects. The evidence included triangulation data of the call that triggered the bomb that killed Daphne Caruana Galizia.
The type of explosive used was TNT, the officials also said, contradicting earlier reports that Semtex plastic explosive had been used. The officials agreed to discuss the case only if not quoted by name because they were not authorized to release details.
The officials said the investigation into the other seven arrested men would continue, but with no charges being filed the men had to be released under Maltese law within 48 hours of their arrest.
They were forced to turn over their passports and must check in regularly with police.
Two of the three men charged, Vincent Muscat, 55, and Alfred Degiorgio, 52, were acquitted in 2004 on armed robbery charges, while Degiorgio’s brother George, 54, was charged with possession of unlicensed weapons and tools used to pick locks.
Muscat, who shares the Maltese prime minister’s last name, but is not a relative, was also critically injured in a 2014 shooting from which he recovered.
At a news conference announcing the arrests Monday, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the FBI helped Maltese police in their investigation together with Europol, the EU’s police agency and other European investigators, including from Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number