Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1493799
NEWS 5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 1 MARCH 2023 MATTHEW AGIUS THE Attorney General's Of- fice has asked a court to reject a last-minute request filed by the Degiorgio brothers, less than a week before a court is scheduled to start hearing their appeal. The Court of Criminal Appeal will this week begin hearing the appeal filed by brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio to the 40-year sentence they received after admitting to carrying out the murder of Daphne Caruana Gali- zia. The appeal had been filed less than two weeks after the defend- ants had been sentenced after pleading guilty on the first day of their trial by jury, after having dis- missed their legal aid counsel and engaging private lawyers. The de- fendants had been provided with legal aid lawyers during their trial because they had been unable to find another lawyer willing to rep- resent them after their previous lawyer had renounced their brief. The Degiorgios' first ground of appeal was that the six weeks their legal aid lawyers were given to sift through the 'colossal amount of evidence' before the trial began was not sufficient. The second ground for the appeal was Alfred Degiorgio's self-inflicted weakened state, a result of a hunger strike. This af- fected his ability to resist, or prop- erly think through, his brother's suggestion to throw in the towel, it was argued. Four days ago, the Degiorgios, through their lawyers Noel Bianco and Leslie Cuschieri, filed another application, petitioning the court to order that CCTV footage from Corradino prison and the court lockup be exhibited as part of their evidence to support this claim. In his reply to the Degiorgios' ap- plication, Deputy Attorney Gener- al Philip Galea Farrugia highlight- ed the fact that before the brothers were allowed to plead, the presid- ing judge had ordered that Alfred Degiorgio be medically examined to establish whether he was fit to stand trial. The medical specialists appoint- ed by the court had confirmed "without a shadow of a doubt" that Alfred Degiorgio could be tried, said the prosecutor. "With all due respect, the 'evi- dence' being requested in the pres- ent application, that is CCTV… have a probatory value that is greatly inferior to the consistent evidence arising from the testimo- ny of the two experts." At best, said the prosecutor, the footage could confirm that Al- fred Degiorgio had needed to be brought into court in a wheelchair, something which the Attorney General was not contesting. Galea Farrugia added that he was duty bound to register his disap- proval of the fact that despite the appellant having been aware of his alleged state of health since Oc- tober 14, and despite him having filed this appeal claiming ill-health on November 3 2022, nearly four months ago, it was only now "ba- sically on the eve of the hearing of his appeal sitting," that the appel- lant chose to request the produc- tion of security footage, "which has most probably been overwrit- ten." Announcement – 1st March 2023 Business Enhance Call 2 under the Renovation of Private Sector Buildings Grant Scheme Recovery and Resilience Plan for Malta The Measures and Support Division, within the Ministry for the Economy, European Funds and Lands (MEFL), is the institution in charge of the implementation of investment C1-I1 'Grants targeting renovation of private sector buildings for retrofitting and energy efficiency'. The management structure is established by Council Implementing Decision on the approval of the assessment of the Recovery and Resilience Plan for Malta 11941/21 and supporting Annex ADD 1, by Regulation (EU) 2021/241 and of the European Union Recovery Instrument set up by Council Regulation (EU) 2020/2094. The Measures and Support Division would like to announce the launch of the following call: • Call 2 Renovation of Private Sector Buildings Grant Scheme This call will be issued on Wednesday, 1 st March 2023 and close on Friday, 28 th April 2023. Information sessions on this Call will be held by Servizzi Ewropej f'Malta (SEM) and interested applicants may register to participate from https://fondi.eu Further information on this call including the Guidance Notes and the Guidelines for Implementation may also be obtained from https://fondi.eu or by contacting the Measures and Support Division on msd.eufunds@gov.mt or 2555 2635. Announcement – 1st March 2023 Business Enhance Call 2 under the Renovation of Private Sector Buildings Grant Scheme Recovery and Resilience Plan for Malta The Measures and Support Division, within the Ministry for the Economy, European Funds and Lands (MEFL), is the institution in charge of the implementation of investment C1-I1 'Grants targeting renovation of private sector buildings for retrofitting and energy efficiency'. The management structure is established by Council Implementing Decision on the approval of the assessment of the Recovery and Resilience Plan for Malta 11941/21 and supporting Annex ADD 1, by Regulation (EU) 2021/241 and of the European Union Recovery Instrument set up by Council Regulation (EU) 2020/2094. The Measures and Support Division would like to announce the launch of the following call: • Call 2 Renovation of Private Sector Buildings Grant Scheme This call will be issued on Wednesday, 1 st March 2023 and close on Friday, 28 th April 2023. Information sessions on this Call will be held by Servizzi Ewropej f'Malta (SEM) and interested applicants may register to participate from https://fondi.eu Further information on this call including the Guidance Notes and the Guidelines for Implementation may also be obtained from https://fondi.eu or by contacting the Measures and Support Division on msd.eufunds@gov.mt or 2555 2635. Announcement – 1st March 2023 Business Enhance Call 2 under the Renovation of Private Sector Buildings Grant Scheme Recovery and Resilience Plan for Malta The Measures and Support Division, within the Ministry for the Economy, European Funds and Lands (MEFL), is the institution in charge of the implementation of investment C1-I1 'Grants targeting renovation of private sector buildings for retrofitting and energy efficiency'. The management structure is established by Council Implementing Decision on the approval of the assessment of the Recovery and Resilience Plan for Malta 11941/21 and supporting Annex ADD 1, by Regulation (EU) 2021/241 and of the European Union Recovery Instrument set up by Council Regulation (EU) 2020/2094. The Measures and Support Division would like to announce the launch of the following call: • Call 2 Renovation of Private Sector Buildings Grant Scheme This call will be issued on Wednesday, 1 st March 2023 and close on Friday, 28 th April 2023. Information sessions on this Call will be held by Servizzi Ewropej f'Malta (SEM) and interested applicants may register to participate from https://fondi.eu Further information on this call including the Guidance Notes and the Guidelines for Implementation may also be obtained from https://fondi.eu or by contacting the Measures and Support Division on msd.eufunds@gov.mt or 2555 2635. The Degiorgios, through their lawyers Noel Bianco and Leslie Cuschieri, petitioned the court to order that CCTV footage from Corradino prison and the court lockup be exhibited as part of their evidence to support their claim AG requests dismissal of Degiorgios' last- minute request for court footage in Caruana Galizia murder appeal The Court of Criminal Appeal will this week begin hearing the appeal filed by brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio to the 40-year sentence they received after admitting to carrying out the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia