The jury in the murder trial of Lassana Cisse has begun deliberations, more than seven years after the 42-year-old father of two was shot dead in Ħal Far.As reported by Malta Today, nine jurors retired to consider their verdict on Sunday after Madam Justice Natasha Galea Sciberras concluded her final address.Former soldier Lorin Scicluna, 29, faces nine charges, including the murder of Cisse and the attempted murder of three other people.Cisse, who was originally from the Ivory Coast, was walking home on 6th April 2019 when he was shot dead in what prosecutors allege was a racially motivated drive-by attack.Two other men, Ibrahim Bah and Mohammed Jallow, were injured in the same shooting.Scicluna has pleaded not guilty to all charges, maintaining that fellow former soldier Francesco Fenech, who faces separate proceedings, fired the fatal shots.During the trial, Scicluna admitted that he and Fenech had previously driven around Ħal Far looking for Black people to harass, but denied being the gunman.The prosecution argued that Scicluna’s involvement in the crimes could not be dismissed simply because he claimed someone else had fired the weapon.In her final directions, the judge reminded jurors that their decision must be based on the evidence presented, rather than her summary of the testimony.At least six of the nine jurors must agree on a guilty or not guilty verdict for each charge.The jury will now decide Scicluna’s fate in a case that has remained one of Malta’s most closely followed murder trials.•