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WEDNESDAY EDITION
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WEDNESDAY • 13 NOVEMBER 2024 • ISSUE 916 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY
EDITORIAL • PAGE 11
KARL AZZOPARDI &
MATTHEW FARRUGIA
kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt
mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt
Church and
independent
schools
outperform
state schools
in computer
literacy
PAGE 3
MALTA scores substantially below the interna-
tional average in computational thinking skills
and a notch lower in computer literacy, an inter-
national study reveals.
But the study also confirms the sharp divide in
educational outcomes between students in private
and church schools, whose performance sometimes
surpasses the international mean, and those in state
schools who lag behind.
Extradition to US of
man accused with
malware sale quashed
A Maltese judge has quashed the ex-
tradition to the US of Daniel Meli, or-
dering that his case be reheard by the
magistrates' court.
Judge Neville Camilleri ruled that Meli
should be given the chance to contest
extradition proceedings despite having
already consented to be sent to the US
to face charges there.
The ruling was possible following a le-
gal amendment approved unanimously
by parliament allowing lawyers for Meli
to appeal proceedings despite him first
consenting to the extradition.
Meli's case will have to be reheard in
the lower courts.
His extradition had been requested
by the Northern District of Georgia
following his indictment in Decem-
ber 2023, for computer access, damage
and interception-related offences. US
prosecutors accuse Meli of having of-
fered malware products and services,
amongst them the Pegasus remote ac-
cess trojan (RAT), for sale to cybercrim-
inals through online computer-hacking
forums "since at least 2012."
Earlier this year, in an interview with
MaltaToday, Meli's parents appealed to
the authorities to intervene in the case.
The family had found out that their
son's consent to the extradition meant
he could face a lifetime in an American
prison, a far cry from what Meli's law-
yer had told him when advising him to
agree to extradition.
Lawyers Franco Debono and Arthur
Azzopardi represented Meli during pro-
ceedings.
Maltese judge
quashes extradition
to the US of Daniel
Meli, ordering that
his case be reheard
by the magistrates'
court
JAMES
DEBONO
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
Daniel Meli is wanted by US authorities for allegedly selling malware (Photo: Facebook)
