Caruana Galizia co-accused in jail because of hitman's testimony: defence

Lawyers for one of the men allegedly involved in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia are claiming that he has spent the past nine months in preventive custody only because he was named by self-confessed murderer Vince Muscat.  The only evidence pointing in the direction of Jamie Vella, accused alongside Ta’ Maksar brothers Robert and Adrian Agius of involvement in the 2017 murder plot, was testimony by a hitman currently serving a 15-year prison term, they claimed on Monday.  Vella also stands accused alongside George Degiorgio and Adrian Agius, of involvement in the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop who was gunned down inside a Birkirkara garage complex in October 2015.  Nine months since all four suspects were arraigned and with 120 witnesses having testified in the ongoing compilation of evidence before the Magistrates’ Courts, Vella’s lawyers made a fresh bid for bail. The prosecution’s perceived fear of tampering with evidence was “phantomatic,” especially in view of the fact that the accused was arrested and detained only because he was named by Muscat who himself was serving time behind bars, argued Vella’s lawyer Alfred Abela. Vella was back in court on Monday morning...