Lawyers for Alfred Degiorgio have filed a judicial protest this morning, calling on the Commissioner of Police to act on information that a laptop belonging to murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia is still in her family’s possession.

On Tuesday, Caruana Galizia's sister Corinne Vella said that the family is in possession of the laptop. 

Degiorgio stands accused, together with his brother George and Vincent Muscat, of planting the bomb which killed Caruana Galizia last October.

The judicial protest, signed by lawyer William Cuschieri, says the laptop may contain information important to the defence and points out that a court application had been filed by lead homicide Inspector Keith Arnaud in the name of the Commissioner of Police in October, claiming that Caruana Galizia’s laptop had not been found and was thought to be in the possession of her family.

“Presently it appears that the family members of the victim are withholding from investigators, court experts and the court, access to the server mentioned and any other computer device, particularly the victim’s laptop, which the police are informed, is in the family’s possession,” read Arnaud’s application, before going on to say that the laptop, computer devices and server are “indispensable” to the investigation because it “could contain sensitive information about third parties responsible for this murder.”

The judicial protest filed today says that no decree was given following Arnaud’s court application and that the Commissioner of Police had done nothing about it.

“It appears that the protested party did nothing and is doing nothing about this and is causing grave prejudice to the defence, as the gathering of evidence deemed essential by the investigating official himself could lead to the identification of who is truly responsible for the murder with which the defendant is accused.”

“Neither should it be that the [Commissioner of Police] allows the family of Daphne Caruana Galizia to dictate what evidence should be collected and that such essential evidence be hidden and not given up for the necessary analysis.”

Cuschieri warned the Commissioner of Police that he would be held responsible for the failure to do so and that Degiorgio would take legal action as necessary, without further warning.