Maltese tycoon Yorgen Fenech acquitted of ordering journalist Caruana Galizia's murder
A Maltese court has acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech of orchestrating the 2017 car-bomb killing of reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia. Her family and press freedom groups condemned the verdict.
Fenech cleared of masterminding 2017 assassination as family decries 'terrible decision'
A Maltese court has acquitted tycoon Yorgen Fenech of orchestrating the car-bomb assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, according to reports, prompting an immediate wave of condemnation from her family and media freedom organisations.
Fenech, whose business interests span the energy and tourism sectors, had stood accused of ordering the 2017 killing of Caruana Galizia, who was 53 at the time of her death. He had been arrested in 2019 on his yacht as he attempted to sail out of Malta, after a middleman in the murder was offered a pardon in exchange for identifying those who commissioned it. Prosecutors alleged he had wanted the journalist silenced because she was on the verge of publishing a compromising article about his uncle.
The family responded to the acquittal in a statement issued on Tuesday, saying Fenech's acquittal amounted to "denying her the justice she deserves." Her son, Matthew Caruana Galizia, described the jury's decision as "terrible… that our country may never recover from."
"Accountability is now overdue for all those who enabled, facilitated, or protected her murderers," the family's statement continued. "Nine years after Daphne's brutal assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed."
Dubbed a "one-woman WikiLeaks", Caruana Galizia had spent years exposing corruption at the highest levels of Maltese society, documenting opaque ties between the country's business and political elites. Her killing in October 2017 shocked the wider world and placed Malta — the European Union's smallest member state — under intense international scrutiny over perceived rule-of-law failings.
The murder triggered a political crisis that culminated in the resignation of then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in January 2020, after mass protests erupted over his perceived efforts to shield friends and allies from the investigation. A two-year public inquiry, whose 437-page report was published in July 2021, concluded that the state should "shoulder responsibility" for the murder, citing an "atmosphere of impunity" that had been allowed to develop within government. The panel of three judges found "convincing evidence" that Caruana Galizia's killers believed they would be protected by "persons in the highest state positions."
Five individuals have so far been convicted in connection with the murder. In June 2025, Robert Agius and Jamie Vella were found guilty of supplying the bomb used in the killing and sentenced to life in prison. The three men who carried out the assassination — brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio and Vince Muscat — had previously been convicted and are serving prison sentences.
The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom said the verdict sent "a disturbing message to those who attack and kill journalists." Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it was "beyond outraged," stating that "almost nine years since the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the Maltese authorities have failed to identify and convict the mastermind." RSF called on Maltese authorities to implement "long overdue measures protecting journalists and media freedom."
The Maltese government issued a brief statement saying it "took note" of the verdict and was "committed to ensuring that justice is served."
Source: TheJournal.ie