Five behind bars for life: Praise due to the prosecution

In just a month, five criminals were sentenced to life imprisonment and another to a 40-year jail term after they were found guilty of murder or acts associated with murder.

This is ostensibly a record number of life sentences dished out by the courts in such a short period of time. There are now 19 people serving life at the Corradino Correctional Facility.

In the first case decided last month, brothers Adrian and Robert Agius, known as Tal-Maksar, George Degiorgio, known as Iċ-Ċiniż, and Jamie Vella, were sentenced to life imprisonment by Judge Edwina Grima. The four men were involved in the murders of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and lawyer Carmel Chircop.

Meanwhile, this week, Judge Natasha Galea Sciberras, sentenced Daniel Muka to life imprisonment and his accomplice Viktor Dragomanski to 40 years in jail for the murders of Christian Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski at their Sliema home.

The tough sentences reflected the heinousness of the crimes perpetrated by these criminals. They not only killed the victims but also impacted the lives of their loved ones and shattered the serenity society ought to have. The judges did well to come down hard.

In the first case involving the murders of Caruana Galizia and Chircop, an organised criminal gang was dismantled and its members will now spend the rest of their lives behind bars. In the second case, Muka, a dangerous criminal who committed the Sliema double murder while out on bail for his involvement in a 2017 violent hold up at Diamonds International, was taken off the streets.

All five will no longer pose a danger to society and their wider networks have been dealt a blow.

The successful outcome of these two cases is down to the sheer hard work of the police officers who investigated the cases and collected enough evidence to stand solid in a court of law. They were not swayed by the daunting task in front of them and trudged on with diligence under the pressure created by the high-profile nature of the respective murders.

We have at times criticised the police for being lethargic and appearing too intimidated when the wrongdoing involves people in power. But this is an occasion to praise their efforts in bringing justice to the victims of these crimes, their relatives and society at large.

Praise is also due to the lawyers from the Attorney General, who ably led the prosecution in both cases. The AG has often been at the centre of criticism—some of it justified, some of it spurious—but in these two cases the lawyers representing the chief prosecutor did an admirable job to ensure that the criminals are sent away for life.

The Caruana Galizia and Chircop murders were particularly not easy to handle since they depended on the testimony of a key witness, who agreed to collaborate with investigators.

Nonetheless, the AG lawyers put forward a compelling case that convinced jurors to overwhelmingly find guilt against all four accused.

In the Sliema double murder case, the prosecution rebutted Muka’s antics to try and delay proceedings, convincing the judge to shut down the accused’s repeated filibustering throughout the trial. At the end, Muka got what he deserved.

Life imprisonment is the harshest punishment available under Maltese law. It is handed down for crimes such as murder, drug trafficking, attempted assassination of the president of the Republic, attempts to overthrow the government and crimes that threaten democracy.

In these two cases, the criminal justice system worked well—not simply because the people involved were all found guilty but because the proceedings were conducted in a way that ensured everybody’s rights are respected.

Today, there are six more dangerous criminals behind bars, five of which will stay in prison for the rest of their lives. Today, Malta is a safer place.