Fenech acquitted in Caruana Galizia murder case – jury voted 8–1
Nearly nine years after the car bomb attack on journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, a jury has acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech. The victim's family and press freedom organisations have responded with sharp criticism.
Acquittal for Yorgen Fenech shakes Malta
Nearly nine years after the car bombing of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech has been acquitted in Valletta of allegations that he orchestrated her murder. According to ORF, the jury voted eight to one for acquittal – on both charges of accessory to murder and criminal conspiracy.
Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb near her home on 16 October 2017. The 53-year-old was regarded as one of Malta's most prominent investigative journalists and had reported on corruption in politics and business. The case shook the island nation deeply and forced Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to resign in 2019 – Muscat stepped down in January 2020.
Long history of proceedings
Three contract killers had already pleaded guilty some years ago and are serving sentences of between 15 and 40 years. Two other men convicted of delivering the bomb received life sentences. The acquittal of Fenech ends one of the longest murder trials in Maltese history.
Fenech, 44 years old and scion of one of the island state's most influential business families, located south of Sicily, was arrested in November 2019 as he was leaving a yacht harbour he owned in the St. Julian's district in his yacht. He is regarded as one of Malta's wealthiest men and was director of a power consortium that Caruana Galizia had reported on intensively.
Crown witness and contradictory testimony
The prosecution relied heavily on testimony from Fenech's driver Melvin Theuma. Theuma had admitted to acting as an intermediary between the contract killers and Fenech as the alleged client. In return for his testimony, he received a pardon. Theuma presented recordings and text messages in which he and Fenech are said to have discussed the contract killers and the ongoing murder investigation – Fenech is said to have handed him €150,000.
Fenech admitted to knowing about the murder plans but denied carrying them out. He stated that his former friend Keith Schembri was the true orchestrator. Schembri was chief of staff to Prime Minister Muscat at the time of the crime.
Protests and investigation report
The arrest of Fenech and suspicions of involvement by senior government representatives triggered nationwide protests in December 2019, which eventually forced Muscat to resign. An investigation report published in 2021 concluded that the government had created a "climate of impunity" for those who wanted to silence Caruana Galizia.
Sharp reactions to the verdict
Matthew Caruana Galizia, son of the murdered journalist, called the acquittal a "terrible decision, from which our country may never recover". The family called for consequences in a statement: "It is high time that all those who enabled, facilitated or protected the murderers of her murder are held to account." Nine years after the attack, institutional shortcomings "have still not been addressed and remedied".
Media organisations also responded with incomprehension. The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom stated that the verdict sent "a troubling message to those who attack and kill journalists". Reporters Without Borders (RSF) expressed being "more than outraged" and called for "full justice". The verdict meant that Maltese authorities had failed almost nine years after the murder to identify and prosecute the orchestrator. The authorities must "implement long-overdue measures to protect journalists and press freedom", according to RSF.
Source: ORF