Lorin Scicluna turned down a plea deal that would have seen him serve 30 years in prison for the murder of Lassana Cisse, choosing instead to stand trial before a jury which eventually acquitted him of murder, a report by Times of Malta said.

The newspaper reported that Scicluna's defence team had secured the proposed agreement just days before the trial was due to begin, but Scicluna rejected the offer and instructed his lawyers to proceed with the jury trial.

Scicluna was subsequently acquitted by a nine-person jury of murdering Cisse and the attempted murders of Mohammed Jallow, Ibrahim Bah and May Malimi.

However, jurors found him guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to Malimi, with the offence aggravated by racial hatred. He was also convicted of using a vehicle without registration plates.

According to the bill of indictment, the Attorney General had requested a prison sentence ranging from 18 months to nine years for the charge of grievous bodily harm aggravated by racial hatred.

Article 216 of the Criminal Code provides for a maximum prison sentence of seven years for grievous bodily harm, although Article 83 allows for increased punishment where an offence is motivated by racial hatred.

The sentence is expected to be handed down by the judge on Wednesday at 12.30pm.

Cisse was shot dead on 6 April 2019 while walking home after watching a football match along Triq il-Ġebel, which connects Ħal Far and Birżebbuġa.

During the trial, Scicluna maintained that it was his friend Francesco Fenech who had fired the shots that killed Cisse and injured the other men.

Fenech is facing separate criminal proceedings in connection with the same killing.

The jury's verdict has sparked criticism and outrage among civil society activists, with several individuals and organisations questioning the outcome and raising broader concerns about racism in Malta.