Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1162446
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 4 SEPTEMBER 2019 3 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Shah Soko Moussa, 29, and Ali Ahmed Saleh, 30, both of Sebha, Libya, are charged with hi- jacking the Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 on 23 December 2016, together with a host of other charges related to terrorism. The men had unsuccessfully tried to storm the locked cockpit of the aircraft, armed with replica weapons and had then threatened to blow up the plane. The aircraft had diverted to Malta with 111 passengers and six crew members on board af- ter being seized in Libyan airspace. Multiple sources involved in the proceedings have told MaltaToday that a plea bargaining agreement is being negotiated, with the Attor- ney General insisting on a minimum 10 year sentence in return for a guilty plea by Saleh and in return for his testimony against Mous- sa. In the last sitting, presiding judge Aaron Bugeja asked for an explanation as to how the proposed sentence had been arrived at. Moussa was released on bail, secured by a €20,000 deposit and a personal guarantee of €50,000 in February, a court ruling that it was bound to release the accused once the maxi- mum term of preventive arrest envisaged by law had run its course. The case continues in October. Lawyer George Anton Buttigieg is defence counsel to Moussa, lawyer Marc Sant is ap- pearing for Saleh. Lawyers Elaine Mercieca Rizzo and Charles Mercieca from the AG's Office are prosecut- ing. Hijacker offered 10-year plea deal for testimony against second hijacker Attorney General insisting on minimum 10-year sentence in return for guilty plea by one of the accused together with his testimony against the other hijacker Ali Ahmed Saleh (left) has reprtedly been offered a 10-year plea deal to testify against Moussa Shaha Soko Afriqiyah Airways hijacking MASSIMO COSTA MALTA'S first-ever expo on game development and Es- ports, Playcon, will be held during next month's Delta Summit. The summit is being billed as an event which gamers and game developers should not miss, and will showcase Mal- ta's talent in the gaming sector. It will include several initia- tives, including a full-day lead- ership summit, and an expo for game development and Es- ports companies. It will also involve game events with some of the latest games, and the promotion of career opportunities in Malta in the sector and of locally pro- duces games. Speaking at the announce- ment of the expo on Tuesday, Parliamentary secretary Silvio Schembri underlined the fact that, after the government launched its gaming and Es- ports strategy in May, it and all stakeholders had been work- ing tirelessly on the sector. "Just three months after launching our video game de- velopment strategy, we are here for another milestone which will showcase what we have been doing in the sector," Schembri said. "We want to future-proof our economy, and this is another niche economic sector we are focusinf on," he said. The event, which is being organised by GMR Enter- tainment with the support of Gaming Malta and the Digital Innovation parliamentary sec- retary, will be part of the Delta Summit schedules for 3 to 6 October. Playcon, Malta's first game development and Esports expo, to launch at Delta Summit Expo expected to be a showcase of Maltese talent in the gaming sector