Former soldier Lorin Scicluna has been acquitted of murdering Lassana Cisse, more than seven years after the 42-year-old father of two was shot dead in Ħal Far.According to Times of Malta, a jury returned an 8-1 not guilty verdict on Sunday evening, acquitting Scicluna of the 2019 murder and the attempted murder of three other men.Cisse, who was originally from the Ivory Coast, was walking home after watching a football match on 6th April 2019 when he was shot along Triq il-Ġebel, between Ħal Far and Birżebbuġa.The prosecution had argued that the killing was racially motivated, describing it as a case of racial hatred with a fatal outcome.Throughout the trial, Scicluna maintained that fellow former soldier Francesco Fenech had fired the shots, while admitting that he had been driving the car that night.He also admitted that the pair had previously driven around Ħal Far looking for Black people to harass.Prosecutors challenged his account, pointing to his changing statements during police questioning, the use of his car and a firearm recovered from beneath his bed.However, the defence argued that the evidence did not establish Scicluna’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.The jury reached its decision following several hours of deliberations, bringing the trial, which began on 19th October, to a close.Fenech still faces separate criminal proceedings in connection with the killing.Cisse’s murder sparked widespread outrage in Malta and renewed debate about racism and the treatment of migrants.•