Two brothers were sentenced to 40 years in prison each for the 2017 murder of Maltese anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, on the first day of their trial Friday (October 14) in Valletta.
George and Alfred Degiorgio were convicted of making, planting and detonating the bomb that killed the 53-year-old journalist in his car.
Died for exposing corruption
The Degiorgio brothers were ready last year to implicate a former minister in exchange for a pardon, which they were ultimately refused.
George Degiorgio had already confessed to the assassination for the first time during an interrogation in July, calling it "
just business
".
Both men were charged with murder and criminal conspiracy.
A third man implicated in the murder, Vincent Muscat, pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The wealthy businessman suspected of ordering the murder, Yorgen Fenech, has not yet been tried.
He denies any involvement.
The death of Daphne Caruana Galizia caused a scandal in the country, notably leading to the resignation in January 2020 of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, accused of trying to cover up his friends and political allies splashed by this murder.
According to a public inquiry, the results of which were published in 2021, the Maltese state bears part of the responsibility for the murder of the journalist, in particular for having created a "
climate of impunity
" for those who wanted to silence her.
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