Two men were convicted yesterday, Thursday night in Malta for supplying the explosives used in the 2017 murder of journalist Dafni Karwana Galizia, which shocked the country and international opinion.

Robert Aggius, 41, and Jamie Vella, 42, were found guilty of complicity in the humanicide of the 53-year-old investigative journalist for supplying the military-grade explosives that blew up her car near her residence.

Their sentences are expected to be announced early next week. Prosecutors had asked for a life sentence at the end of a six-week trial.

Dafni Karwana Galizia, one of the best-known journalists in Malta, was killed when her booby-trapped car exploded near her residence on October 16, 2017.

Two defendants were found guilty of murder and sentenced to 40 years in prison, while a third was sentenced to 15 years in prison in exchange for his testimony.

The murder of the journalist, who described in her articles the favoritism and scandals of Malta’s political and economic elite, had caused an international outcry.

Large protests had been held in Malta against then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who was accused of protecting his friends and allies during the investigation until he was forced to resign in December 2019.

A public inquiry published in 2021 found no evidence of state involvement in the murder of Daphne Karwana Galizia, but had concluded that the government maintained a “climate of impunity” for those who wanted to silence her.

For the journalist’s family, yesterday’s guilty plea by the accused is a further “step towards justice.”
“But eight years after Daphne’s brutal murder, the institutional inadequacies that made her killing possible have yet to be addressed or resolved,” it stressed in a statement.

The trial of Jorgen Feneck, once an associate of Joseph Muscat’s government who allegedly ordered the killing, is still awaited.

He was arrested in November 2019 aboard his yacht while trying to leave Malta. He was released on bail in January 2025 and to date no date has been set for his trial.

For Reporters Without Borders, yesterday’s court ruling “undoubtedly represents progress in the search for justice”, the mco wrote in a statement today, calling for the “swift conviction (…) of the person who ordered the murder”.

Moreover, “the government must finally implement the relevant recommendations on the safety of journalists and press freedom included in the 2021 public inquiry”, RSF believes.