Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1472486
NEWS 5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 6 JULY 2022 NICOLE MEILAK MURDER suspect George Degiorgio has confessed to his role in the murder of Daph- ne Caruana Galizia, and said he will implicate others who helped plot her assassination. Degiorgio confessed to this in an interview with a Reu- ters journalist, saying that he would have asked for €10 mil- lion, as opposed to €150,000, in payment to kill the journal- ist. He described the hit as "business as usual", then add- ing that he feels sorry for the murder. Caruana Galizia was killed in a car bomb attack as she left her home in Bidnija on 16 Oc- tober 2017. Degiorgio is indicted, to- gether with his brother Al- fred, over the murder. The two were arrested and charged in December 2017, together with accomplice Vince Muscat, for carrying out the murder. Muscat con- fessed to his role in the mur- der last year. Degiorgio, known as iċ- Ċiniż, was identified by the police as the person who re- motely triggered the bomb that killed the journalist. Police evidence present- ed in court put Degiorgio on his boat, the Maya, below the Great Siege Bell in Grand Harbour, when the SMS trig- gering the bomb was sent. Degiorgio told Reuters that he will plead guilty ahead of any jury trial, and that he will provide testimony that will implicate others in the mur- der plot while revealing de- tails about a previous unreal- ised plot to kill the journalist. He said that his motive in all this was to secure a reduced sentence for himself and his brother. "We're not going down alone!" he told the jour- nalist. Both brothers have made several attempts through their lawyers to secure a pardon in return for testimony about their role in the murder and on other crimes that allegedly involve prominent figures. George Degiorgio confesses role in Caruana Galizia murder, says he 'would have asked for €10 million' Request for reduced sentence Degiorgios willing to reveal high-ranking figures involved in Caruana Galizia murder MATTHEW AGIUS GEORGE and Alfred Degiorgio are willing to admit guilt in the Daphne Caruana Galizia mur- der and identify higher ranking figures involved in the assassi- nation, in return for a reduced sentence, the brothers have told MaltaToday. In a statement to this newspa- per through their lawyer Wil- liam Cuschieri, the Degiorgio brothers reiterated their offer to tell investigators "everything", about other murders, bombs and crimes in return for a par- don on these cases. "We want a judgment upon admission in the trial of Daph- ne's murder, which judgment is in line with that already handed down to Vincent Muscat. We are willing to divulge everything we know about other murders, bombs and crimes provided we receive a pardon. We empha- sise that the families of other victims should be served justice too," the Degiorgio brothers said. "We will also be willing to tell all on the Daphne murder." The statement comes a few hours after Reuters revealed that George Degiorgio said that he would plead guilty ahead of any trial by jury in the Caruana Galizia case and indicated will- ingess to provide testimony that would implicate others involved in the murder and in a previous unrealised plot to kill the jour- nalist. The revelation was made in a unique interview he gave the international news agency as part of a podcast series on Caruana Galizia's murder that will start airing later this month. But George Degiorgio also un- repentantly told Reuters that had he predicted the fall-out from the assassination he would have asked for €10 million and not €150,000. This is the first time that the Degiorgios have publicly ad- mitted guilt and shown their willingness to plea bargain in the Caruana Galizia case on the same lines as co-accused Vincent Muscat, who admitted guilt in February last year. Mus- cat was jailed for 15 years and granted a presidential pardon to tell all on the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop. The Degiorgios are charged with executing the murder plot, which saw the journalist being blown up in a car bomb explo- sion on 16 October 2017. The two brothers had previ- ously made an offer to provide information on the Caruana Galizia murder and other high profile crimes in the hope of obtaining a presidential pardon. An attempt was made last April in the form of a pre-emptive constitutional application in which they pledged to provide information which is "true, con- firmable, credible, direct and which is not hearsay". All attempts to obtain a presi- dential pardon have so far been rejected. The difference now is that they appear willing to plea bargain on the Caruana Galizia case. In his comments to Reuters, George Degiorgio indicated that his brother and he did not want to go down alone on Caru- ana Galizia's murder. Caruana Galizia was killed in a car bomb attack as she left her Bidnija home