Men accused with murdering Daphne Caruana Galizia formally charged

Attorney General files bill of indictment against three men accused with journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder

The bill of indictment against three men accused of murdering Daphne Caruana Galizia has been filed
The bill of indictment against three men accused of murdering Daphne Caruana Galizia has been filed

The Attorney General has filed a bill of indictment against the three men accused of assassinating Daphne Caruana Galizia, 21 months to the day that the journalist was killed outside her home in Bidnija.

The bill of indictment against Vince Muscat, known as il-Kohhu, George Degiorgio, known as ic-Ciniz and Alfred Degiorgio, known as il-Fulu, was filed on Tuesday morning.

Attorney General Peter Grech confirmed with MaltaToday that the accused were served with the bill of indictment.

The compilation of evidence against the three has been going on since December 2017 when they were arrested in a raid on the potato shed in Marsa.

The men are accused of creating, planting and detonating the bomb that blew Caruana Galizia's car in Bidnija on 16 October 2017. 

They will now stand trial.

The bill of indictment lists six accusations against the three men including voluntary homicide, the possession and detonation of an explosive, as well as forming part of a criminal organization.

The Attorney General has asked for the men to be handed a life sentence for voluntary homicide and a second life sentence for the detonation of an explosive as well as 12 periods of solitary confinement for each crime.

The men face up to 76 years in prison for the remainder of the charges.

Government statement

The Maltese government said in a statement that the bill of indictment against the three people accused of murdering Caruana Galizia was "further proof of the commitment and good functioning of the Maltese institutions".