The road to justice has only just reached another milestone

The guilty verdicts delivered by jurors against the Maksar gang—brothers Adrian and Robert Agius, Jamie Vella and George Degiorgio—came as a relief to many. 

First and foremost, it brought a measure of closure to the relatives of lawyer Carmel Chircop, who was gunned down mercilessly in Birkirkara in 2015; his lifeless body left on the cold concrete floor of his garage. 

It also brought Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family one step closer to justice—the final chapter has still to be written with the trial of Yorgen Fenech. In Daphne’s case, Robert Agius and Jamie Vella supplied the bomb that was used to blow up the journalist in October 2017. Jurors did not hesitate and delivered an 8-1 verdict. This is considered to be a unanimous verdict. They opted to believe the testimony of star witness Vince Muscat, il-Koħħu, and Melvin Theuma. 

But the guilty verdicts also brought relief to society. The Maksar gang had long operated in the shadows as a criminal organisation with suspected links to the mafia in Italy and Albania. And yet, its members enjoyed an upper middleclass lifestyle with all its lavish trappings. They posed as bona fide businesspeople, presenting an acceptable façade that allowed them to operate with impunity for too long. 

But this gang brought destruction to anyone who crossed its path. Chircop was eliminated because he became an inconvenience when he started bothering Adrian Agius to pay back a €750,000 loan. In Caruana Galizia’s case, they supplied the bomb that killed her. Court testimony shows that they may have been behind other bombings that characterised the first two decades of the 21st century.  

Society is today safer with these men behind bars. 

But while we can collectively breathe a sigh of relief in the knowledge that the criminal justice system has done its job, we must not forget that there is still more to do in the battle against organised crime. 

The Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case still has one more leg to go—the trial of Yorgen Fenech, accused of commissioning the journalist’s assassination. Fenech is pleading not guilty and is awaiting trial. 

There are also several ongoing prosecutions against people who held the reins of power or gravitated around them. These people are facing different charges related to financial crime, including money laundering, fraud and corruption. They cast a worrying light on how the boundaries between politics, business and crime can get muddled up at the expense of the common good, and in Daphne’s case, at the expense of journalists who dare to probe and seek answers. 

It is of utmost importance that these cases reach fruition and are prosecuted in the best way possible so that justice is truly served. 

In a statement after the Maksar trial verdict, the Caruana Galizia family said that although this marked a significant step toward justice, the systemic failures that enabled her murder remain unresolved. 

Indeed, most, if not all, of the recommendations made by the Caruana Galizia public inquiry, remain unimplemented. New laws are required to enable the police to investigate unexplained wealth and have wider powers to go after organised crime syndicates. Police resources need to be continuously boosted to be in a position to fight sophisticated, multi-layered and cross-border crime. 

Transparency rules on meetings and personal assets for members of parliament, ministers and top public service officials must be enforceable at law, and publication should be mandatory rather than depend on the goodwill of the prime minister. It is only through public scrutiny that politicians can be held to account. 

The changes to magisterial inquiries enacted by the current administration that limited the right of ordinary people to ask for a magisterial inquiry into suspected wrongdoing should be reversed. Notable cases of corruption have ended up in court on the strength of such inquiries. 

Laws to protect journalists from intimidation and interference, and to strengthen freedom of expression should be enacted. Journalism is the fourth pillar of democracy and it should be recognised as such through constitutional and legal changes. 

The law regulating financing of political parties must be upgraded to allow the Electoral Commission to scrutinise accounts and donation reports and take action if necessary. The current constitutional impasse that prevents the commission from taking the necessary administrative steps to punish wrongdoing is ridiculous. 

The fight against organised crime requires a broad approach that targets the systemic failures that enable criminals to operate with audacity and perceived impunity, if not outright impunity because those in power choose to close an eye to abuse. 

The Maksar verdict is an important milestone but only just. More still needs to be accomplished to have a society that is fair, just, safe and equal. Malta needs to step up its game. We all deserve better.