Lorin Scicluna on trial for 2019 Birżebbuġa shooting that killed Ivorian man
Prosecutors told jurors that Scicluna and companion Francesco Fenech targeted dark-skinned men in racially motivated attacks. One victim, Lassane Cisse, died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Jury hears how Ivorian man was shot dead on Birżebbuġa road in April 2019
Lorin Scicluna, now 29, is standing trial before a jury for the killing of Lassane Cisse Souleymane and a series of racially motivated attacks carried out in early 2019, the Times of Malta reports.
Prosecutor Abigail Caruana opened the case by taking jurors through the final moments of Cisse's life. On the evening of 6 April 2019, the Ivorian national was walking alone along Triq il-Ġebel towards Birżebbuġa, listening to music, unaware that two men in a car behind him were preparing to open fire.
The prosecution maintains that Scicluna, a former Armed Forces of Malta soldier, and his companion Francesco Fenech had driven to Ħal Far that evening with the specific intention of targeting people of dark skin colour. Before setting off, the two men removed the registration plates from Scicluna's Toyota Starlet, according to the indictment.
Caruana told jurors that the pair spotted Cisse as they drove downhill. They waited until he had passed beneath a CCTV camera before following him for several metres. Three shots were then fired from inside the vehicle using a pistol registered in Scicluna's name. One bullet struck Cisse in the head, penetrating towards the back of his brain. He died at the scene. Scicluna, who was driving, continued along the road without stopping.
Two other men injured minutes later
That same evening, Mohammed Jallow, from The Gambia, and Ibrahim Bah, from Guinea, were walking in the opposite direction along the same road after watching a football match together. They heard the shots fired at Cisse but initially mistook the sounds for fireworks and continued walking.
Shortly afterwards, they encountered the same vehicle. Four shots were fired in their direction. Jallow was struck by a bullet that entered his thigh, damaged his urinary bladder and fractured his pelvic bone. He underwent surgery at Mater Dei Hospital. Bah sustained a gunshot wound to his shoulder, though his injuries were not life-threatening. Scicluna drove away without stopping to assist either man, the prosecution maintained.
Caruana told jurors that the violence could not be considered separately from the racial hatred which, according to the prosecution, lay behind the attacks. That hatred, she argued, had moved beyond prejudice into violence with fatal consequences.
Earlier incident: man from Chad struck by vehicle in February 2019
The jury also heard that the April shootings were not the first incident involving the accused. Caruana referred to an attack on 1 February 2019, at approximately 8.45pm, when Scicluna and Fenech were again travelling along Triq il-Ġebel in the same Toyota Starlet.
According to the prosecution, they spotted May Malimi, a national of Chad, crossing the road. Scicluna drove the vehicle into Malimi, leaving him injured on the road before driving away. Malimi sustained a fractured left shoulder requiring surgery, during which metal screws were inserted to stabilise the injury. He also suffered swelling to his head and a knee wound requiring stitches. The prosecution maintains the February incident formed part of the same pattern of racially motivated violence.
Scicluna changed his account to investigators
Caruana also outlined the evidence expected during the trial, including CCTV footage and testimony from crime scene investigators, Transport Malta representatives and forensic experts, among them pathologists. Jurors will also hear recordings of Scicluna's police interrogation.
According to the prosecution, Scicluna initially told investigators he had lent his car to a stranger on the night of 6 April 2019. He later admitted the car was his and that he had been driving it that evening, but continued to deny any intention to kill, claiming instead that he and Fenech had gone to Ħal Far to shoot cats.
On the February incident involving Malimi, Scicluna offered a different account. He told investigators he had been adjusting something on the vehicle's radio and had asked Fenech to hold the steering wheel, at which point Fenech turned it, causing the car to strike Malimi.
Following the April shootings, Scicluna also modified the appearance of his vehicle after media reports emerged that police were searching for a white Toyota Starlet. The indictment lists the fitting of a side mirror, the placing of a sticker on the windscreen and the addition of black strips along the sides of the car among the changes made.
Why Fenech faces separate proceedings
During her opening address, Caruana explained to jurors why Fenech was not standing trial alongside Scicluna. The two men were initially charged together and their cases proceeded jointly because much of the evidence concerned both accused. The defence has hinged part of its case on the claim that it was Fenech, not Scicluna, who fired the shots that killed Cisse.
The presiding judge reminded jurors that Francesco Fenech is not the one on trial in these proceedings.
Source: Times of Malta