A Maltese court pronounced Robert Agius (41) and Jamie Vella (42) guilty of complicity in the October 16, 2017, assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia late Thursday. The two were convicted of supplying military-grade explosives to killers targeting Caruana Galizia with a car bomb.

The 53-year-old journalist wrote extensively about government corruption and crooked business deals. Much of her investigative focus during the time leading up to her targeted killing was trained on the inner circle of then President Joseph Muscat.

Her brazen killing shocked Europe and sparked protests on the Mediterranean island.

Protesters rallied against Muscat over his perceived efforts to shield friends and allies in a later investigation into the murder. He eventually resigned from office in 2019.

Though a 2021 public inquiry found no evidence of direct government involvement in Caruana Galizia's murder, it did attest to a "climate of impunity" within the administration toward those who may have wanted to do her harm.

On Friday, the slain journalist's family said the verdict brings them "a step closer to justice."

"Yet, eight years after Daphne's brutal assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed," the family added.

What else do we know about the trial into Caruana Galizia's murder?

Agius and Vella are expected to be sentenced early next week, with prosecutors seeking life sentences for both men.

They are the fifth individuals to be convicted thus far in connection with Caruana Galizia's assassination.

Two men, brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio, are serving 40 year sentences for carrying out the murder.

Vince Muscat was convicted along with the Degiorgios but given a 15-year reduced sentence and a pardon in another murder case for providing key witness testimony that led to the convictions of Agius and Vella.  

A sixth man, Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech — who was among those with close ties to the Muscat government — currently awaits trial on charges that he masterminded the Caruana Galizia hit. 

Fenech was arrested in November 2019, attempting to flee the country on his yacht. He was granted bail in January 2025. No date has been set for his trial yet.

Edited by: Rana Taha