Two men jailed for life after car-bomb assassination of Maltese journalist

Caruana Galizia's murder led to the resignation of Malta’s prime minister Joseph Muscat in 2019

Flowers and a candle lie in front of a portrait of slain investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia during a vigil outside the law courts in Valletta, Malta (AP)

Two men have been sentenced to life in prison by a Maltese judge for providing the bomb used in the 2017 assassination of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia

The murder of Caruana Galizia sent shockwaves through Malta and ignited outrage across Europe, eventually leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in 2019.

Robert Agius and Jamie Vella were found guilty on Friday, with jurors reaching an 8-1 verdict. After a trial that lasted more than six weeks, the court concluded that they supplied the explosive material in exchange for money. The two defendants had pleaded not guilty.

Their sentence was handed down on Tuesday, following submissions from lawyers regarding their punishment.

Caruana Galizia was killed on October 17, 2017, when a bomb placed under the driver's seat of her car blew up as she was driving away from her home.

Another two men, brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio, are serving 40-year jail terms after admitting to having set off the bomb. A third man, Vince Muscat, who also admitted his role in the murder, is serving 15 years after turning state's evidence and testifying against the Degiorgios, and also against Agius and Vella.

He described meetings in a coffee shop to plan the murder and how the military-grade bomb was procured, carried in a children’s shoe box and placed in Caruana Galizia’s car. It was set off by remote control from a yacht.

The alleged murder mastermind, one of Malta's leading businessmen, is awaiting trial and a court has banned media references to him so as not to influence potential jurors.