Three men have been charged in Malta with the murder over a car-bomb blast that killed anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, according to a statement read out in court.
Caruana Galizia died instantly when her car was blown up as she drove out of her home on October 16, a killing that shocked Malta and raised concern within the European Union about the rule of law on the tiny Mediterranean island. All three pleaded not guilty.
The men were named as Vince Muscat and brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio. It was not immediately clear whether police thought they had acted on their own or were hitmen working for others.
Caruana Galizia wrote a popular blog in which she relentlessly highlighted cases of alleged graft targeting politicians of all colours, including Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. Vince Muscat was not a relative.
Police arrested 10 men on Monday in connection with their investigation into the killing. It was not clear if the remaining seven suspects would be released or be charged at a later date.
A close friend of Caruana Galizia told Reuters that she did not think the journalist had ever investigated the three men charged on Tuesday.
