Malta court hears testimony naming former officials in Caruana Galizia murder plot

A court in Valletta has heard testimony alleging that two former Maltese political figures were involved in the plot to kill journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The claims were made during the trial of businessman Yorgen Fenech, who is accused of ordering the 2017 car-bomb assassination. The hearing also featured evidence from George and Alfred Degiorgio, the brothers who confessed to planting the bomb and are serving 40-year sentences.

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Alfred Degiorgio was first to testify after being brought from prison to court. He told the jury that former economy minister Chris Cardona, lawyer David Gatt and former chief of staff Keith Schembri were involved in the murder, but he did not elaborate further. He later refused to answer questions from both defence and prosecution lawyers, saying he would not respond.

Judge Edwina Grima ordered his arrest for contempt of court and directed that he return for a hearing within 48 hours. George Degiorgio then gave evidence in the afternoon and made a series of more detailed allegations. He said the murder plot began in 2015 and claimed that Cardona gave him orders that year.

He also described an alleged meeting in which Gatt told him that Cardona wanted to speak to him, after which Cardona allegedly said: "I want you guys to kill Daphne." The testimony placed the alleged planning of the killing several years before Caruana Galizia was assassinated in 2017. The case remains one of the most significant criminal proceedings in Malta because it concerns the killing of a journalist whose work had exposed corruption and abuse of power. Allegations involving a former minister and a former top aide to the prime minister raise the political stakes of the trial and deepen scrutiny of how the murder was organised.

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The testimony also adds to the long-running public and legal pressure for full accountability in a case that has already shaken confidence in Maltese institutions. Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb in 2017, an attack that drew international condemnation and became a major press-freedom case in Europe. The Degiorgio brothers' role in planting the bomb has already been established through their own confessions, but the latest testimony seeks to connect the killing to figures who once held senior positions in government.

That makes the trial not only about who carried out the attack, but also about who may have helped plan or authorise it. What remains unclear is how the court will assess the credibility and legal weight of the brothers' allegations, particularly given Alfred Degiorgio's refusal to answer further questions. It is also not yet clear whether the testimony will lead to new charges or further hearings involving the named former officials.

The next developments are likely to focus on the contempt hearing, continued evidence in Fenech's trial and any response from those accused in court.

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