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MaltaToday 8 September 2021 MIDWEEK

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3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 08 SEPTEMBER 2021 NEWS NICOLE MEILAK FORMER Prime Minister Joseph Mus- cat has insisted that he has apologised to the family of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia – but contin- ues to ask that the family accept the conclusions of the Egrant inquiry. In a letter to the Times of Malta on Tuesday, Muscat hit back at a previous letter penned by Peter Caruana Galizia, claiming the former Labour leader had only "nearly apologised" over the mur- der. "In my interview with Times of Malta I did not 'nearly apologise' but I apolo- gised, as is my duty as prime minister during whose tenure this heinous crime took place. I did not put any conditions to this statement," Muscat wrote. His exact words in the interview were as follows: "If they want an apology, I will make one, I won't try to avoid that. Even though I'm the prime minister un- der whose leadership the alleged killers were caught. But that won't bring their mother back." Muscat added that he apologised ir- respective of any reservations he held about the inquiry, "and [irrespective of] the fact that one of its members had already expressed himself on the issue without making it known". He continued to defend himself, stat- ing that he did not ask for an apology, but instead asked the family to accept the conclusions of the Egrant inquiry. "What I asked for is that the family merely accept the conclusions of the independent inquiry which shows that the Egrant affair was a total frame-up on my family, consisting of forged sig- natures and contradictory statements." Last week, the Caruana Galizia family penned their own letter to the Times of Malta in response to a previous letter by the newspaper's former deputy editor Roger Mifsud. In his own previous letter of 30 August, Roger Mifsud blamed Daphne Caruana Galizia's family for having the public inquiry now "mired in controversy". He said the family had a free hand in choos- ing the judges on the inquiry board, in turn bringing the result of the judges' deliberations into question. Mifsud was referring to a judicial protest filed by former Labour deputy leader Joe Brincat, requesting the State Advocate to investigate the public in- quiry with an inquiry of its own. Mifsud lashed out at the family's choice of legal counsel, Nationalist MP Jason Azzopar- di. "To have as legal counsel a firebrand politician of the sort of Jason Azzopar- di was inviting the outcome they have got," Mifsud argued. "Why did they re- sort to such a controversial politician for a lawyer? They have fallen victim to his thinking. The surprise is that Daph- ne's husband is himself a lawyer and he should have known better." In response, the Caruana Galizia fam- ily said that it had been targeted in- cessantly since 16 October 2017, even blamed for Daphne Caruana Galizia's assassination. "Nothing surprises and shocks us anymore, however vicious, agenda-driven and nasty." The family reacted to that Mifsud's remark on the board of inquiry, by in- sisting that it had been appointed "for better or worse" by the former prime minister. "Our duty as the victim's heirs was to ensure it met the requirements of impartiality, effectiveness and inde- pendence, from both the government and the victim's family." The public inquiry only saw the light of day after incessant pressure from the Council of Europe, the Caruana Galizia family, their lawyers and civil society groups. "The only controversy appears to be in Mifsud's mind. Our prime minister and our president have both personally apologised to us and Joseph Muscat has nearly apologised, condi- tional on the ridiculous demand that we first apologise to him." Muscat: I apologised despite inquiry reservations Former PM to Caruana Galizia family in exchange of letters over public inquiry aftermath: 'family should accept Egrant inquiry conclusions' Joseph Muscat CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 But the court also heard the prosecuting inspector say that he could not tie the charges to any predicate offence at this stage of pro- ceedings. Reading through the de- cree of prima facie, in court on Tuesday morning, the magistrate noted that the underlying criminal activity had not yet been identified, but after examining the law and recent judgments of the superior courts, noted that at this stage the court was only required to determine whether there appeared to be a case to answer. She underlined that when a court of compilation is asked to see if there is suf- ficient evidence to indict in money laundering cases, the onus of proof in such cases is on the accused, as opposed to the norm. "From the evidence, in particular the chats, there appears to be a case to an- swer" decreed the magis- trate on Tuesday. During the previous sit- ting, Fenech's lawyers de- nounced what they de- scribed as a 'frenzy to persecute' their client. Also on Monday, presid- ing magistrate Donatel- la Frendo Dimech turned down a recusal request filed by Yorgen Fenech's lawyers. The compilation of evi- dence will continue on 19 October. Lawyer Charles Mercie- ca, appearing for Fenech together with lawyers Gi- anluca Caruana Curran and Marion Camilleri. Lawyers Cinzia Azzopar- di Alamango and Marthese Grech from the Office of the Attorney General are prose- cuting together with Police Inspector Brian Camilleri. From the evidence, there appears to be a case to answer' - magistrate

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