Former Armed Forces of Malta soldier Lorin Scicluna has been acquitted of the murder of Lassana Cisse by a jury on Sunday evening.

The development comes hours after the jurors retired at 11:45am to consider nine charges against Scicluna, including the murder of Lassana Cisse Souleymane, who was shot dead in Ħal Far, on the outskirts of Birżebbuġa, on 6 April 2019.

The jury returned an 8-1 not guilty verdict over the murder of the 42-year-old man, and the attempted murder of three other men: Mohammed Jallow from The Gambia, Ibrahim Bah from Guinea, and May Malimi from Chad.

Scicluna was however found guilty of causing grievous injuries to Malimi by a 6-3 majority, and found guilty by a 9-0 unanimous verdict of using a vehicle without registration plates.

He was found not guilty of causing grievous injuries using a firearm to Jallow and Bah by a 6-3 majority.  Likewise, he was found not guilty of being in possession of a firearm during the carrying out of a murder by a 6-3 majority.

At least six out of the nine jurors had to agree on a verdict for each charge.  An 8-1 verdict, as was reached by the jury, is taken as an effective unanimous verdict in the practice of Maltese law.

The acquittal is the second major one in a jury trial in the last few months after a jury acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech of complicity and conspiracy in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The case had been described as Malta's first alleged racially motivated murder. Francesco Fenech, 28, is also expected to stand trial separately in connection with the case.

The verdict came after almost two weeks of hearing evidence about the killing and the police investigations that followed.

Scicluna maintained throughout the trial that it was Fenech, who was also an AFM soldier at the time, who fired the shots that killed Cisse and injured two others.

Fenech is facing separate proceedings and is still yet to face trial.

Scicluna took to the witness stand himself during the two-week trial, admitting that he and Fenech had previously gone around Ħal Far looking for Black people to pick on. 

He admitted to being present in an incident where a Black man – Malimi – was hit by a car, but said that it had been Fenech who was driving. 

On the day Cisse was murdered, meanwhile, Scicluna said that the initial intention was to shoot cats, but Fenech suddenly opened fire on three men, including Cisse, and then threatened to shoot him when he protested.

The prosecution countered by pointing out that Scicluna had changed his versions while being questioned, and pointed out that the gun used in the shooting was found under his bed and that they were using his car.

The defence however insisted that this alone was not enough to establish Scicluna’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Earlier in the day, Madam Justice Galea Sciberras completed her final directions to the jury after reviewing the testimony presented during the trial.

She reminded jurors that Scicluna could still be found guilty of murder as an accomplice if there had been an intention to kill, even if he had not personally pulled the trigger himself.

She also stressed that Scicluna remained presumed innocent and that any finding of guilt had to be established beyond reasonable doubt.

Upon receiving the verdict just before 8pm, Scicluna could be seen crying, while there were mixed emotions on the basis that he had been cleared or murder but found guilty of two other charges.

Judge Galea Sciberras thanked the jurors for their services and exempted them from jury duty for five years.

Scicluna will remain remanded in custody until at least Wednesday 4 November, when the court will hear submissions from the prosecution and defence for sentencing on the two charges that Scicluna has been found guilty of.