Malta: Two convicted in 2017 murder of journalist

A Maltese court convicted two men of supplying explosives used to assassinate an investigative journalist. Daphne Caruana Galizia, who reported on government corruption, was killed with a car bomb.

A Maltese court pronounced Robert Agius (41) and Jamie Vella (42) guilty of complicity in the October 16, 2017, assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia late Thursday. The two were convicted of supplying military-grade explosives to killers targeting Caruana Galizia with a car bomb.

The 53-year-old journalist wrote extensively about government corruption and crooked business deals. Much of her investigative focus during the time leading up to her targeted killing was trained on the inner circle of then President Joseph Muscat.

Her brazen killing shocked Europe and sparked protests on the Mediterranean island.

Protesters rallied against Muscat over his perceived efforts to shield friends and allies in a later investigation into the murder. He eventually resigned from office in 2019.

Though a 2021 public inquiry found no evidence of direct government involvement in Caruana Galizia's murder, it did attest to a "climate of impunity" within the administration toward those who may have wanted to do her harm.

On Friday, the slain journalist's family said the verdict brings them "a step closer to justice."

"Yet, eight years after Daphne's brutal assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed," the family added.