Alfred Degiorgio goes on hunger strike over ‘unacceptable’ prison regime

One of the men accused of murdering Daphne Caruana Galizia is on hunger strike due to what his lawyer described as an “unacceptable” situation in prison.

Alfred Degiorgio has been refusing food for two days, after the prison director ordered that he and his brother George be locked in their cells for 25-hour stretches to avoid conflict with another inmate, David Norbert Schembri.

Schembri, who had been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his partner in 2004, is understood to have injured George Degiorgio with a coffee flask in August last year, causing him to suffer burns.

This is not the first time that Schembri had an altercation with a fellow inmate. He had previously argued with Noel Borg at the prison infirmary in 2010. That quarrel ended with Schembri blinding Borg with a razor.

Degiorgio’s lawyer William Cuschieri told the MaltaToday how after the coffee flask incident, a group of other inmates had beaten Schembri up. To avoid further trouble, the Prison Director gave an order that when Schembri is out of his cell, Alfred and George Degiorgio are to be locked in for a number of hours and vice versa.

It is this situation which prompted Alfred to go on hunger strike, his lawyer said, describing the situation as “unacceptable.”

The prison authorities could not be reached for comment, but it is understood that Degiorgio's health is being monitored by a doctor.