Caruana Galizia Murder: Fenech Acquitted, EU Promises Truth Will Not Be Buried
Maltese billionaire Yorgen Fenech, accused of being the mastermind behind the killing, has been acquitted. The EU and the Council of Europe have reacted with dismay.
Fenech acquitted: no mastermind found for Caruana Galizia murder nine years after attack
According to Google News IT — Crime (it), the Maltese court has acquitted Yorgen Fenech, a Maltese billionaire identified as the alleged mastermind behind the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed on 16 October 2017 by a car bomb explosion. Almost nine years after the crime, no one is therefore held criminally responsible for ordering the assassination.
Caruana Galizia had uncovered a sprawling corruption and money laundering scandal involving Malta in 2017. Her investigation had already produced significant political consequences: two ministers resigned and the European Union began questioning the rule of law on the island. In the years that followed, the Maltese government and authorities were accused of wanting to bury the investigation.
The direct perpetrators of the murder had been identified and convicted in October 2022: brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio were sentenced to 40 years in prison, whilst the Maltese offender Vincent Muscat received a reduced sentence of 12 years in exchange for cooperating with the authorities. The central question remains unanswered: who ordered the killing of the journalist.
The reaction of the European Parliament
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, chose to address the journalist directly on her personal X account. "When they murdered you, in broad daylight, in front of your family home, we promised that we would not allow them to bury the truth," Metsola wrote. A deliberate gesture, indicating the intention not to close the case despite the verdict.
European Parliament member Sandro Ruotolo of the Democratic Party also commented in words of clear condemnation: "The decision of the Maltese jury to acquit Yorgen Fenech leaves us dismayed." Ruotolo added that "we cannot resign ourselves" and that "the search for truth and justice must continue," emphasising that "the Daphne Caruana Galizia case is not about Malta alone. It is about Europe."
Council of Europe warns: risk of culture of impunity
Explicit criticism came from the Council of Europe. Shami Chakrabarti, a member of the body which is preparing a report for the Parliamentary Assembly specifically on delays in the handling of the case, declared that the situation is "profoundly disturbing." "Almost nine years after the murder, those who ordered it have still not been called to account for their actions," Chakrabarti stated, warning that "the failure to ensure individual accountability risks perpetuating a culture of impunity."
Chakrabarti therefore called for "all those responsible for ordering the murder to be brought to justice" and for the broader recommendations of the public inquiry to be "fully implemented." The case remains open, with an investigative line that will have to be reconstructed from scratch following the acquittal of the principal suspect.
Source: Google News IT — Crime (it)