Judge Natasha Galea Sciberras handed down the sentence on Thursday morning. According to Lovin Malta, Scicluna was also ordered to pay €6,676.32 in court expert expenses.
The most revealing part of the sentence was the limit around it. The court said the applicable range would ordinarily run from 18 months to 12 years, but the indictment listed a maximum punishment of nine years. As reported by Lovin Malta and Newsbook, the judge said the court was bound by what had been written there.
That is not a technical footnote dressed up as drama. Sentencing ranges are part of the architecture of a case. Here, the prosecution asked for the maximum sentence available under the indictment, and the court imposed eight years: one below the ceiling it said it had to respect, and below the 12-year maximum the judge said would otherwise have applied.
The judge also stressed the need to send a strong message against racial hatred, particularly because Scicluna was serving in the Armed Forces of Malta when the offence occurred, Lovin Malta reported.
Scicluna had stood trial over the killing of Lassana Cisse Souleymane. He was acquitted of murder and attempted murder charges, but jurors found him guilty of grievously injuring Malimi and of using a vehicle without registration plates, according to Lovin Malta. Newsbook reported that after the sentence was read out, Scicluna cried and told his mother, “I did nothing, Ma.”
His lawyers said they would discuss with their client whether to appeal the conviction or the sentence, Newsbook reported.
Isla Camilleri 
Alex de Valletta 
Harvey Jr.