Updated 11.50am with decision

Fresh criminal proceedings against Keith Schembri are to be assigned to a new magistrate, after his request for the recusal of magistrate Gianella Camilleri Busuttil was upheld on Thursday. 

Schembri had requested the magistrate's recusal in the criminal case filed against him over alleged leaks in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation.

Lawyers for the former top political aide argued that the magistrate had been previously involved in the prosecution against him.

Schembri was in court on Thursday where he was set to face charges of perjury and breaching the Official Secrets Act.  

It followed a five-year probe triggered after Yorgen Fenech, charged with complicity in the journalist’s October 2017 murder, claimed information about the investigation was leaked to him by Schembri.

At the time Schembri was then prime minister Joseph Muscat's chief of staff.

But before proceedings could begin, lawyer Edward Gatt asked Magistrate Gianella Camilleri Busuttil if she had ever been involved in any inquiry related to Schembri, given that she was previously employed as a lawyer at the Attorney General’s office.

The magistrate said she did not recall being involved in any inquiry involving Schembri and these charges specifically, but remembered working on the case against the Degiorgio brothers.

Alfred and George Degiorgio were sentenced to 40 years in prison after they admitted to planting the car bomb that killed Caruana Galizia.

Gatt pointed out that a lot of witnesses involved in this case would be the same ones the magistrate was actively prosecuting due to her previous work with the Attorney General.

The magistrate confirmed that she had been part of the prosecution in several cases and recalled signing some attachment orders.

Gatt formally requested Camilleri Busuttil to recuse herself in the interest of the administration of justice.

Following a short suspension of the sitting, the magistrate accepted the request. 

Lawyers Mark Vassallo and Shaun Zammit also appeared for Schembri Superintendent Hubert Cini and police inspector Shaun Friggieri are prosecuting.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.