A public statement issued by George and Alfred Degiorgio almost a year ago, alleging the involvement of prominent politicians in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder, did not refer to Joseph Muscat, one of the brothers testified on Monday.
The Degiorgios, currently each serving a 40-year jail term after pleading guilty to their role as hitmen in the murder, were summoned as witnesses by lawyer Christian Grima in libel proceedings filed against him by the former prime minister.
Neither Muscat nor his lawyer were present on Monday.
This was not the Degiorgios’ first appearance as witnesses in Muscat’s libel case.
When first summoned last October, they refused to testify, saying that they were still undergoing criminal proceedings over the murder.
At a second summons in November, when the murder charges against them had been decided upon definitively at appeal stage, the Degiorgios were shown a copy of a statement they had circulated to the press months earlier.
But while confirming their signatures on that document and the contents thereof, they refused to testify further.
“We will testify in due course. Why should I testify now for free?,” George Degiorgio adamantly insisted at that hearing.
His brother Alfred followed suit, choosing not to testify because of ongoing “constitutional cases and other proceedings too.”
They stood firm by their position a week later and the presiding magistrate remanded them into detention.
When escorted from Corradino Correctional Facility on Monday, Alfred Degiorgio took the witness stand first, explaining that he would testify as long as he did not incriminate himself.
Grima's lawyer, Karl Grech, read out an excerpt from the Degiorgios’ public statement, specifically where they claimed that the Caruana Galizia murder case was not as it was being projected by those who wanted to ensure that “whoever was truly involved, would be made out as being a virgin.”
They also dismissed a government offer of a €1 million prize for information about the murder as a “farce.”
“So who was truly behind the murder?” asked Grech.
“I won’t answer at all,” replied Alfred Degiorgio. “It doesn’t refer to Joseph Muscat for sure,” he added, with reference to the document quoted by Grima’s lawyer.
Pressed further, Degiorgio said that to answer, he would incriminate himself.
And when it was pointed out that he had already admitted to Caruana Galizia’s murder, the witness promptly rebutted: “No, I didn’t admit. I admitted nothing and I got 40 years imprisonment.”
“There’s a constitutional case,” he added.
Faced with that refusal to testify, Magistrate Victor George Axiaq remanded the witness in detention until he would choose to testify.
As the first witness was escorted out of the hall, his brother was led in.
He was also asked about the brothers’ joint statement referring to “whoever was truly involved” in the murder.
“What do you want to know?… Isn’t your case about Joseph Muscat?” remarked George Degiorgio.
Grima's lawyer observed that in their public statement, the Degiorgios had spoken of the involvement of various persons, including former minister Chris Cardona and former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri.
“What was their involvement in the murder?” insisted Grech.
“I will not testify,” came the adamant reply.
“Why?” pressed on the lawyer.
“Because this is not the opportune moment,” answered Degiorgio.
He too was remanded in detention until he chose to testify.
A notice of summons issued to former OPM official Kenneth Camilleri proved negative, observed the magistrate, checking the records of the case.
Grima and his lawyer explained that they would take stock of the proceedings and summon other witnesses, including Schembri and Cardona, in due course.
The case continues in May.
Lawyers Leslie Cuschieri and Noel Bianco assisted the Degiorgios.