Updated 12.35pm

Two brothers were today charged with having murdered a man following an argument in Bikrkirkara last month. 

Both Siraj S.B. Shalgum, 36 and Husain Saleh Belgasem Shalgum, 31, who was arraigned in crutches after having been injured in a fight with the victim, pleaded not guilty.

The two unemployed Libyan nationals stand accused of having killed 40-year-old and compatriot Fouzi Farj Etwaish on the night of November 25. Mr Etwaish was stabbed  in their Triq il-Bwieraq residence.

Mr Etwaish later succumbed to his injuries in hospital. 

Police inspector James Grech testified that the defendants themselves had called police to alert them to the case. The elder brother made a false report, telling police Mr Etwaish had fallen the stairs, the court heard.

An autopsy confirmed the victim had been stabbed to death. 

Inspector Grech said that both of the accused had been immediately questioned but released on police bail, as there was not sufficient evidence against them within the 48-hour window afforded to police by law. For this reason they had been release on police bail.

CCTV footage and forensic evidence gathered during four separate searches from the two's Birkirkara home led to their arrest once more yesterday.

Defence counsel Joe Brincat challenged their arraignment under arrest, but the court presided by Magistrate Josette Demicoli upheld the police’s decision on the strength of the “circumstance of the case”.

The two did not request bail. 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.