A magistrate has recused herself from hearing a case against former OPM chief of staff and Joseph Muscat ally Keith Schembri.

On Thursday, Schembri was supposed to be arraigned and charged with perjury and breaking the Official Secrets Act in connection with the Daphne Caruana Galizia muder investigation.

Thursday's arraignment came five years after the pardoned middleman in the murder case, Melvin Theuma stated that Schembri had kept the murder's alleged mastermind Yorgen Fenech up to date with developments of the police investigation.

The perjury charge involves Schembri's testimony on 18 December 2019, where he denied instructing Fenech on what to say to the police, informing him of progress in the murder investigation, and telling the alleged mastermind that his phone was being tapped.

But before Schembri could be charged, his defence questioned whether magistrate Gianella Camilleri Busuttil, who was to be overseeing the sittings, had ever worked on cases involving Schembri when she was a prosecutor in the Attorney General's Office. Camilleri Busuttil had been appointed as a magistrate in 2023.

The magistrate said that she definitely had acted as prosecutor in the case against the Degiorgio brothers, with the defence stating that many of the witnesses that will testify in this case were probably witnesses summoned by the magistrate when she was a prosecutor.

After a short discussion with their client, the defence requested the recusal of the magistrate.

The request was upheld by the magistrate, noting that the case will be re-assigned.

Keith Schembri is therefore yet to be charged over his alleged leaking of information about the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation.

11:53 That's all for today, the case will be continued on another day. 

11:51 The magistrate has recused herself from the hearing, as the case will be re-assigned to another magistrate.

11:50 The magistrate has just returned to the courtroom

11:04 The sitting is currently suspended.

11:03 Before Schembri could be charged, his defence asked magistrate Gianella Camilleri Busuttil about her history working as a prosecutor within the Attorney General's Office. The defence asked the magistrate whether she had ever been involved in cases where Schembri was involved.

The magistrate said that she definitely had acted as prosecutor in the case against the Degiorgio brothers, with the defence stating that many of the witnesses that will testify in this case were probably witnesses summoned by the magistrate when she was a prosecutor.

After a short discussion with their client, the defence requested the recusal of the magistrate.

10:55 The magistrate has just entered the courtroom. The sitting is about to begin.

10:41 Today's sitting has just been moved to Hall 29, as court staff informed those present in Hall 14 that there is no power in the courtroom.