The compilation of evidence against the man alleged to have masterminded the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder, Yorgen Fenech, continues this morning.
The sitting comes hours after the murder middleman Melvin Theuma was hospitalised with serious injuries from what police said were self-inflicted.
In a previous sitting, the court heard that murder middleman Melvin Theuma denied paying the former police commissioner €30,000 to secure the presidential pardon.
Inspector Keith Arnaud, who was also testifying confirmed that during briefing sessions on the Caruana Galizia case with then prime minister Joseph Muscat at Castille, former chief of staff Keith Schembri used to be present.
The inspector also confirmed that when Theuma was arrested in November last year on the basis of a money-laundering operation, €600,000 in cash had been found in his possession, apart from a box containing the recordings.
Daphne Caruana Galizia, an investigative journalist, died in a car bomb explosion outside her home in Bidnija in October 2017.
Follow the proceedings live below:
17:26 That's it for today. We are wrapping up our live blog. Thank you for following.
17:23 The next hearing will be held on 30 July.
17:19 The sitting will continue behind closed doors.
17:19 Parte civile lawyer Jason Azzopardi: "I am not going to assume responsibility for bloodshed of a person mentioned in this recording in a particular context. I am not saying it shouldn't be played, but there is a context and a context."
17:16 The defence declares that it is unacceptable that these recordings have not yet been investigated, despite the reasons given by the prosecution. "The interest that the accused should get a public trial should prevail over other considerations," Mercieca says.
17:14 The court dictates its note.
17:13 Yorgen Fenech hisses loudly and puts his head in his hands.
17:13 Arnaud: "When the media is involved things start to change."
17:12 Lawyer Charles Mercieca says that Yorgen Fenech has a right to a public hearing. He argues that the point of departure is that the hard drives were exhibited by the prosecution and they had this evidence much before it was exhibited. He argues: "The fact that the investigation into these eight people is going to start today, does not make sense in my humble opinion. Melvin Theuma was given a pardon on the strength of these recordings, how are investigations still starting?"
17:10 Meanwhile, Lawrence Cutajar's deposition is being suspended.
17:08 Noting that the content of the recording hasn't been investigated yet and that third parties and circumstances of their private life will be exposed, the court orders that the recording be heard behind closed doors. The court is not going to permit it to be heard in public, the magistrate says.
17:06 Arnaud: "There are three persons who would be in a very bad position if their names are published in the media without even having been investigated."
17:04 Arnaud tells the magistrate that none of the people in the recording have been investigated. The prosecution would prefer it behind closed doors.
17:02 "It's like you're not liking it," jibes Mercieca. "I like it, I like it. At the end of the day the truth is what I'm after," replies Inspector Kurt Zahra.
16:59 Defence lawyer Charles Mercieca is giggling and gently ribbing the prosecution as they scramble to read through the transcript to find the name.
16:58 The defence and prosecution are not agreeing on some aspects of the recording since names are on it. The magistrate retires again to her chambers to let both sides come to an agreement.
16:55 The court says that it is going to hear recording Number 9.
16:54 The defence says it is willing to somehow obscure the names of people in these recordings.
16:53 Inspector Keith Arnaud says the recordings could put some people in uncomfortable or indeed dangerous situations.
16:50 We're back. The court is now in session.
15:45 We are still waiting for developments. Our court reporter tells us that recordings are still being played behind closed doors. Former police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar is expected to continue testifying.
14:21 The court orders the hall to be emptied.
14:20 The parties agree that the recordings be heard in private and then snippets of it or transcripts be heard in public. This is to protect the third parties mentioned in the recordings.
13:51 The sitting is suspended until the parties thrash out between themselves how to proceed.
13:50 "A third party speaks on the tape and is at risk," says the inspector.
13:49 Cutajar is sent out of the courtroom while the court handles a question by Inspector Keith Arnaud about the tapes. People are mentioned who have no connection to the case, he says.
13:49 Mercieca wants the court to hear the recordings.
13:46 Mercieca says the prosecution had direct evidence that the former police commissioner had tipped off Theuma.
13:45 Cutajar shouts at the defence lawyer for "asking questions for the media". But the court reprimands him.
13:44 Cutajar says that if someone said that Theuma gave me money for a pardon he's either lying or bluffing. "Melvin Theuma bluffed under oath," he says.
13:42 Cutajar: "I don't know anything."
13:42 Mercieca asks about the pardon. "Did money change hands?"
13:41 Cutajar: “Nothing. ‘Niltaqgħu?’ things like that.
13:41 Mercieca: What did they say?
13:40 Cutajar: “Yes.”
13:40 Mercieca: “Do you have a copy of your messages with il-Ġojja?”
13:39 Cutajar: "Minimal."
13:38 Mercieca: "After Melvin Theuma got the pardon and before your resignation what role did you have in the investigation?"
13:37 Cutajar says that he felt the police should not go for the recordings immediately or they would hit a wall.
13:35 Cutajar says that he asked Brincat "point blank" about the recordings. "Il-Ġojja said he didn't know anything but said he might try and find out. I didn't feel the need to inform the investigation before the second meeting with il-Ġojja."
13:32 Cutajar: "I later informed the team. I never spoke to il-Ġojja about pardons, money or raids."
13:31 Cutajar says that with Brincat in front of him he wanted to take a chance and see whether he could get him to indicate the place where the tapes where.
13:30 Cutajar: "No."
13:30 Mercieca: "Was it normal for Brincat to come to your house?"
13:28 Cutajar goes on to explain that had the police not found the tapes, Theuma would still be arraigned on money laundering charges. The decision was whether to go for the tapes and have no Plan B, or go for Melvin and hope for the tapes. I took the latter decision.
13:27 Cutajar: "From the 90s. I was an inspector in the 80s and 90s and he had a business in Wied il-Buni and I had carried out an inspection."
13:26 Mercieca: "How many years had you known Brincat?"
13:25 Cutajar is asked about his meeting with Edgar Brincat, known as il-Ġojja [Edgar is also called by another name, Edwin]. Cutajar explains that Brincat had gone to his house with a traffic fine for using trial plates. He was angry as it wasn't him and he stood to lose his licence. Brincat was a friend of Theuma's.
13:18 He is asked who told him about Melvin Theuma's request for a pardon. "The investigators," he replies but cannot recall whether it was inspectors Keith Arnaud or Kurt Zahra.
13:15 Cutajar: "Upon his arrest, Theuma had asked for certain lawyers. Simon Busuttil and Jason Azzopardi, Beppe Feneh Adami and Karol Aquilina. 'I want a PN lawyer,' Theuma had said."
13:14 The court and the defence object to Cutajar's lawyer, Ezekiel Psaila's, proximity to the witness.
13:13 Cutajar: "I was informed of Theuma's arrest after he was arrested."
13:12 Cutajar: "I did not conclude anything. I relied on their report. I've been saying this for ages now, the investigators heard the recordings... Theuma's credibility was verified with the recordings."
13:09 Mercieca: "What led you to conclude from this 2-3 hours that Melvin Theuma's information was truthful?"
13:09 He says that he was present when Theuma was spoken to informally, but not for the on the record meetings.
13:08 Cutajar is given a copy of the pardon and reads from it. The dates he mentioned as meeting Theuma are confirmed. He adds that he was never directly involved in the investigation of Melvin Theuma.
13:07 QUICK REMINDER: The period in question is November 2019 when Yorgen Fenech was arrested. On 19 November, then prime minister Joseph Muscat had told journalists that the middleman in the Caruana Galizia murder case had been offered a conditional pardon.
13:06 Cutajar says a draft pardon for Theuma was drawn up between 15 and 25 November by the AG.
13:00 Mercieca: “Was there a draft pardon before this?”
13:00 The former police chief says the report on the pardon was done “from A to Z” by the investigators. He says the report was completed a few days before 25 November.
12:59 "Yes, I'm sure", Cutajar replies.
12:58 Mercieca: "Only? Are you sure?"
12:57 Asked who he had met with on the investigation, Cutajar says that many meetings were held at the Office of the Prime Minister. "Besides the AG and investigators, there was always the Prime Minister and Keith Schembri present."
12:56 Cutajar says that before 14 November 2019, the idea of the pardon had not existed. It came into being with Melvin Theuma, he adds.
12:55 The magistrate is unhappy with the witness's demeanour.
12:54 Cutajar: "Apparently, Melvin Theuma wasn't trusting us. He thought we would talk to him off the record and use the information against him. A memorandum of understanding was signed by the Attorney General and the Prime Minister and handed to Theuma. When this was done they started hearing the recordings with Theuma."
12:53 Cutajar says that when the tapes were received, they were opened in the presence of the inquiring magistrate in the money laundering inquiry.
12:53 The court reprimands the witness for smiling and talking to his lawyer.
12:52 Cutajar says that there were talks about pardons relating to other persons. "We started talking about the proklama when the recordings were in our hands."
12:48 Mercieca: "Who else did you speak to before 15 November about the pardon?"
12:48 Cutajar: "I spoke to Keith Arnaud, Kurt Zahra, Peter Grech and Philip Galea Farrugia. There were many meetings, we spoke many times. The meetings were always with the investigators. There were two or three meetings about the proklama and the investigations which could lead to it."
12:44 Mercieca: "Who did you speak to before the decision to give the pardon was taken? The investigator, the AG?"
12:43 The defence lawyer asks whether Cutajar read the news last Friday but the question is prohibited by the court.
12:42 Cutajar says he was at home and at the Inter Club.
12:40 Mercieca: "What were you doing the past four days?"
12:39 Cutajar: "No."
12:39 Mercieca: "Did you speak to anyone else?"
12:39 Cutajar: "I did not speak to the people prohibited by the court."
12:38 Mercieca: "Before today's sitting who did you speak to?"
12:38 Cutajar says that there was a request for Theuma not be prosecuted and that the money laundering charges do not cover his family.
12:36 Cutajar: "When he was arrested I spoke to Melvin Theuma off the record with his lawyers present. This was 14 November. I spoke to him off the record on the next day... I'm not certain about the date but what I'm certain of is that the investigators spoke to Theuma's lawyers on a Friday."
12:34 Defence lawyer Charles Mercieca asks how the decision to pardon Theuma was reached.
12:32 Psaila interrupts the first question. He wants Cutajar to be exempted from any obligation of secrecy. The court obliges.
12:31 He confirms his signature on it.
12:30 Cutajar is shown a copy of the pardon given to Theuma.
12:30 The defence object to the presence of Cutajar's lawyer Ezekiel Psaila next to the stand. The court says he should move away slightly.
12:29 Former police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar is called into the courtroom. He takes the stand. The court cautions him that he needs not answer potentially incriminating questions.
Former Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar testifies in court.
12:27 QUICK RECAP: The recordings in question form part of the cache of recordings that pardoned middleman Melvin Theuma had done. These particular recordings have not been heard yet in court. The defence claims that these recordings contradict Theuma's previous court testimony.
12:25 The court, however, wants the recordings to be heard in their entirety.
12:23 Mercieca now asks to have Cutajar asked questions before the recordings.
12:21 The court authorises the hearing of these recordings in their entirety before Cutajar testifies.
12:20 "The whole recordings must be played," the court says. The magistrate says that before the court hears Cutajar testify, it must hear the voice recordings.
12:19 He says the recordings are between 20 and 45 minutes long each.
12:16 Defence lawyer Gianluca Caruana Curran says it is important that everyone hears the tapes. "The pertinent parts of the tapes will be played to the witnesses," he explains.
12:11 The defence want to confront the witnesses - Inspector Keith Arnaud and former police chief Lawrence Cutajar - with the new recordings.
12:08 The court will give a decree in camera on the defence's request.
12:08 Mercieca quotes EU case law. "Why do we need the phone now? This is evidence which regulates how advice is given, how the defence is to prepare itself."
12:00 Arnaud: "We are basing our objections not on UK jurisprudence, which also allows disclosure for the prosecution, but on EU jurisprudence. The evidence is preserved and will be given to the defence before the case is decided, giving it adequate time and facilities to prepare the defence."
11:59 Lawyer Jason Azzopardi says the parte civile was not even given a copy of the victim's phone from the inquiry.
11:58 Galea Farrugia insists that disclosure is subject to legal limits.
11:56 Deputy Attorney General Philip Galea Farrugia objects to the request.
11:56 The defence request the court to order the police to give them a copy of the data extracted from Fenech's phone by Europol. Jurisprudence from the UK says that the accused has the right to request exculpatory evidence from the police. The onus is on the prosecution to disclose this information as it is only they who have it, the defence argues.
11:51 Arnaud apologises for not having the required documents at hand but says that last night was a very busy one.
11:50 Arnaud: "I need the authorisation of the court to do so and I don't know when the investigations are going to be finished."
11:49 Mercieca: "When are you planning on giving the defence a copy of the phone?"
11:49 Arnaud: "The information is in the expert's hands, I just have a copy... The data is also vast and should not end up in the wrong hands."
11:48 Mercieca: "What are you waiting for to disclose the info to Yorgen Fenech?"
11:46 Arnaud says he doesn't have information at hand on the identity of who had passed on the data to Europol. He reiterates he is not part of the magisterial inquiry and not a court-appointed expert.
11:45 Arnaud: "The data is in the possession of the task force. Members of the task force can analyse and tag the information. If there is something meriting investigation it will be processed and passed on to the person analysing that information. Information can be shared with other police units according to the case."
11:39 Defence lawyer Charles Mercieca asks where the extracted information is physically kept. "It's on a hard drive in a secure location," Arnaud replies.
11:38 Arnaud says he has no direct contact with Europol experts. The only contact that occurred was solely to collect information from the device. "There are other Europol teams supporting the police," he says.
11:36 Arnaud: "The mobile phone is in the possession of Europol experts in The Hague. The phone could not be physically exhibited in the acts of the inquiry because extraction had to be done on it."
11:35 Arnaud says the mobile phone was photographed on site by the forensic officers and passed on to Europol. When asked who the Europol experts are, Arnaud says he cannot recall the names but points out that they are available in the magisterial inquiry.
11:33 Arnaud says that it is in the possession of Europol experts.
11:33 Defence lawyer Charles Mercieca asks him where Yorgen Fenech's phone is.
11:30 Inspector Arnaud takes the stand. He is shown a copy of the pardon given to Theuma. He confirms it is a true copy of the original.
11:29 The court is back in session. The magistrate authorises the use of FTK software to access the recordings.
11:07 QUICK RECAP: Today's court sitting comes hours after pardoned middleman Melvin Theuma was found with serious stab wounds at his home in what police have described as an attempted suicide. Theuma was operated in hospital and according to what Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà told a crime conference this morning, he is in a stable condition. Theuma had to testify in today's sitting on recordings that the defence wanted to be played.
10:55 The magistrate retires to her chambers pending a check on whether the tapes can be heard.
10:53 Inspector Keith Arnaud enters the courtroom. He had been present for the crime conference delivered this morning over the Theuma attempted suicide case.
10:52 The court warns the parties and lawyers that contempt of court carries with it a significant punishment.
10:52 The Attorney General lawyers point out to the court that Caruana Curran had passed a comment in their regard on the lines: "Did the AG order a go slow on these things too?"
10:43 Gianluca Caruana Curran says that he is worried for his own safety as he had copies of the tapes. The court points out that they are also in its possession.
10:42 The defence wanted to hear the tapes today.
10:41 Cardona says he had listened to a few seconds of each recording to make sure they worked. He confirms that he had been directed as to what folders to copy.
10:38 The defence suggests that Cardona had checked the folders with Arnaud.
10:37 Cardona says he spoke to Arnaud once, to check if everything had arrived.
10:37 Lawyer Charles Mercieca asks him how often he had spoken to Inspector Keith Arnaud.
Melvin Theuma was set to testify today after new recordings emerged, however he attempted to commit suicide late on Tuesday.
10:36 Cardona: "On an academic level I know that there are a lot of files but I wasn't asked to open them. The court gave me a list of the folders to copy. If there were 50 folders and I was told to copy six, I would copy those six. I cannot exclude that there might have been other folders with recordings."
10:34 Cardona says he did not open or access the copies he made, not even to check their functionality. "I wasn't asked to," he adds.
10:34 Answering another question, the witness says there are '.txt' files also in the folder containing instructions. These could be edited, he says.
10:32 The witness confirms it is not included.
10:32 The defence cross-examines. Lawyer Charles Merceica for Yorgen Fenech asks whether FTK is included in the hard drive.
10:27 Cardona: "I had to use other software, FTK imager, to access the other files."
10:27 Those files ending in '.e01' can be opened with a certain programme, he says, while the other files used a different programme.
10:25 He explains to the court that two types of software were needed to access the recordings.
10:25 Cardona: "Yesterday I found out that there were other types of files. The media said that there was missing evidence in the recordings. This is not true. A different programme created files with the extension '.e01'"
10:22 The witness says he had been asked to copy certain folders.
10:22 Cardona is asked whether he extracted all the data.
10:21 Court expert Alvin Cardona takes the stand. He extracted the recordings from the hard drive and explains how it was done.
10:20 Zahra says that Inspector Keith Arnaud had the best answer to this question.
10:19 The police have apparently blacked out from the document, crimes for which he is pardoned for but which have no bearing on the case. Inspector Kurt Zahra is asked who redacted the unconnected crimes.
10:18 The presidential pardon for Melvin Theuma is exhibited in court. The prosecution had objected to this but the court rules last week that the pardon had to be exhibited in the acts of the case.
10:11 The court rules that lawyers for witnesses have no locus standi in proceedings.
10:11 The courtroom erupts into chaos as defence lawyers insist Grima has no locus standi in the case. Grima shouts: "This is so we don't only hear one version in this trial by the media."
10:09 Lawyer Kathleen Grima appearing for Melvin Theuma asks for the opportunity to rebut assertions made about her client by the defence.
10:07 The parte civile, Azzopardi says, has contacted Europol itself and it can testify to the veracity of the prosecution's version. The prosecution has also summoned Superintendent Galea Scannura to testify on the matter.
10:05 Parte civile lawyer Jason Azzopardi says it is a lie that someone suggests that there were some files which were deleted or hidden, so much so that the defence had the possibility of accessing the files and ask questions about them.
10:04 Inspector Kurt Zahra says it is impossible to have hidden the recordings as they were extracted by Europol. Zahra says that a police inspector is going to explain what happened and later Europol will also testify on the matter.
10:03 The defence says a full and transparent inquiry is needed on the Melvin Theuma stabbing. The court says it has no power to order this but it is pointed out that a magisterial inquiry is already underway.
10:02 The lawyers squabble after the defence suggests that the tapes were "hidden".
10:01 The court is told that Theuma is still in a critical condition.
10:00 QUICK REMINDER: In the last sitting last week, Fenech's defence team wanted to play recordings made by Theuma, which it says contradicted claims the witness had made in court. However, controversy erupted when the indicated recordings could not be found in the court records and they had not been played before. The prosecution had objected to cross-examination on the indicated recordings because Theuma had not testified about them. The magistrate ruled that the recordings could be played but the sitting had to be adjourned until the recordings were re-extracted. Today, Theuma was expected to testify on these recordings.
09:55 The defence expresses concern, saying that the witness Melvin Theuma, was panicked last time. Now, he is in hospital fighting for his life when he had to testify today about the tapes mentioned last week. Caruana Curran reminds the court that Theuma was under police protection.
09:52 The suggestion is that this happened at the same time that recordings were corrupted.
09:52 The suggestion is that this happened at the same time that recordings were corrupted.
09:50 Caruana Curran says that Inspector Keith Arnaud had met a court expert without permission and without the presence of the defence on 30 January. This emerged from the testimony of Alvin Cardona.
09:49 Fenech’s lawyer, Gianluca Caruana Curran asks to dictate a note.
09:47 Magistrate Rachel Montebello enters the courtroom.
09:46 The small courtroom is packed with reporters and family members. Yorgen Fenech’s brother, Franco, and their mother are also in the courtroom.
09:43 A police crime conference is currently underway in which details are being given on the Theuma case.
09:41 Theuma was expected to continue testifying under cross-examination today.
09:41 The sitting comes hours after middleman Melvin Theuma was found at his home with serious knife wounds in what police described as self-inflicted.
09:40 We are in court for waiting for the sitting to start.
09:38 Good morning.