One of the defendants being prosecuted in the murder cases of Daphne Caruana Galizia and lawyer Carmel Chircop has requested that the judge presiding the case be precluded from continuing to hear it. 

Brothers Adrian and Robert Agius together with Jamie Vella and George Degiorgio stand accused of being involved in the Caruana Galizia case as well as the fatal shooting that took Chircop's life. 

Degiorgio, together with his brother Alfred, has already admitted to planting and triggering the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia in October and is currently serving a 40-year prison sentence. 

However, in court on Friday, Ishmael Psaila, representing the co-accused Vella, made a formal request for the judge to recuse herself, due to the fact that she has heard and is currently hearing separate cases related to Caruana Galizia’s murder. 

Grima is currently hearing the case against businessman Yorgen Fenech, who stands accused of masterminding the Caruana Galizia murder and earlier on Friday handed down a sentence on pre-trial pleas. 

The judge was also overseeing the case against the Degiorgios and handed down their sentence, as what was supposed to be a prolonged trial by jury was spontaneously cut short after the brothers admitted to the charges brought against them on the first day of the trial. 

In the interest of justice and to ensure the defendants get the fair hearing they deserve, given her involvement in other cases related to these charges, the Judge should accept the defence’s request for her recusal, Vella’s lawyer argued. 

Separately, George Degiorgio’s lawyer Noel Bianco said that, as he had recently taken over the brief, the accused did not have an opportunity to file pre-trial pleas on the case, as the accused’s previous representation had failed to do so. 

Bianco said that since being notified of the summons, he had tried on several occasions to make contact with his legal aid lawyer Cynthia Tomasuolo to discuss the trial but to no avail. As a result, the time limit for Degiorgio to make pre-trial exemptions had elapsed. 

The judge deferred the case to Wednesday when she would be making a decision on the request for recusal. She also ordered that Tomasuolo be present at the next sitting to explain why a note about pre-trial exemptions in the case against Degiorgio had not been filed with the court.

Adrian and Robert Agius were represented by Alfred Abela while Leslie Cuschieri also represented Degiorgio.