Acquittal for Yorgen Fenech in journalist Caruana Galizia murder case
A Maltese jury has acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech in the murder case of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The family has expressed disappointment.
Jury acquits Fenech by 8 to 1 vote
Google News CH — Crime (de) reports: A Maltese jury has acquitted entrepreneur Yorgen Fenech in the murder case of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The jury's verdict was clear, with an 8 to 1 majority vote in favour of acquittal. The jurors had withdrawn in the morning to deliberate before announcing their verdict. Fenech is considered one of Malta's wealthiest men.
Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb near her home on 16 October 2017. The 53-year-old was regarded as one of the country's most renowned investigative reporters and had conducted research into corruption in politics and business. Her death is considered one of the most spectacular murder cases in the history of the small EU member state.
Three contract killers — including two brothers — had already pleaded guilty several years ago and are serving prison sentences ranging from 15 to 40 years. Two other men, convicted for supplying the bomb, received life sentences.
Fenech was arrested in November 2019 when he was leaving a marina he owned in the upmarket St. Julian's district aboard his yacht. The prosecution's case rested on statements from his chauffeur Melvin Theuma, who admitted to acting as an intermediary in the murder. Theuma was granted a pardon in exchange for his testimony.
Theuma stated that he had acted as a middleman between the contract killers and Fenech as the alleged contractor. Fenech had handed him 150,000 euros. Theuma presented recordings and text messages in which the two allegedly communicated about the contract killers and the murder investigation.
Fenech acknowledged knowing of the murder plans but denied being the person who ordered the killing. He accused his former friend Keith Schembri, then chief of staff to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, of being the actual mastermind.
Fenech was director of a power plant consortium, which Caruana Galizia had extensively investigated. This connection brought him into investigators' focus after the murder. The arrest and suspicion of involvement by high-ranking government officials triggered nationwide protests in December 2019, which ultimately forced Muscat to resign.
Caruana Galizia's family responded to the acquittal with disappointment. In a statement, the family said the acquittal denied the journalist the justice she deserved. Today should have been her day. The institutional failures that enabled her murder have not been addressed to this day.
Source: Google News CH — Crime (de)