Three men were charged Tuesday with the murder of campaigning Maltese journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia, killed in a car bomb on the Mediterranean island on October 16.

Caruana Galizia was one of Malta's most prominent public figures, thanks to a widely read blog she used to expose crime and corruption on the small but economically booming nation.

The three men charged with her murder pleaded not guilty in court.

Brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio, aged 55 and 53 respectively, and Vincent Muscat, 55, were charged with manufacturing the bomb, with killing the journalist, with taking part in organised crime as well as possession of explosives