Degiorgio brothers want Melvin Theuma testimony on Daphne murder struck off
Two of the men who allegedly planted the bomb that killed Daphne Caruana Galizia were back in court on Wednesday for a hearing on further preliminary pleas ahead of the upcoming murder trial. Having already filed over 100 pre-trial pleas last year, Alfred and George Degiorgio’s lawyer raised additional pleas concerning witnesses and evidence which came to light when the bill of indictment had already been issued by the Attorney General. In a judgment delivered in September, the Court of Appeal almost confirmed in its entirety a decision by the Criminal Court rejecting all the Degiorgios’ pleas, but upheld one objection concerning testimony given by lead prosecutor Superintendent Keith Arnaud. When testifying at the murder compilation, Arnaud had referred to information obtained through the tapping of George Degiorgio’s phone without, however, exhibiting the warrant authorising those phone intercepts. Consequently, the Court of Appeal ordered the removal of that part of Arnaud’s testimony and any reference thereto at the upcoming trial. Now the Degiorgios are requesting the Criminal Court, presided over by Madam Justice Edwina Grima, to strike off the testimony by the so-called...