Fenech acquitted in Daphne Caruana Galizia case: RSF expresses extraordinary outrage
A Maltese jury has acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech of charges related to the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. RSF and ECPMF warn of a dangerous signal for those attacking journalists.
Fenech acquitted: press freedom organisations condemn Maltese verdict
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) expressed "extraordinary outrage" after a Maltese court jury on Wednesday acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech of charges of complicity in the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. According to Aktuality citing the AP news agency, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) warned that the failure to secure accountability in this case sends a "disturbing message" to those who attack and kill journalists.
"The verdict means that nearly nine years after the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Maltese authorities have failed to identify and convict the mastermind," said Pavol Szalai, director of RSF's Prague office. RSF also expressed solidarity with the family of the murdered journalist and called on Maltese authorities to take measures to protect journalists and media freedom.
The Maltese court jury decided on Fenech's innocence after approximately eight hours of deliberation. Eight of nine jurors voted to acquit him of charges of complicity in the murder and of criminal conspiracy to kill Caruana Galizia; six votes would have been sufficient for conviction.
Daphne Caruana Galizia died on 16 October 2017 when a bomb planted in her car exploded while she was driving near her home in Bidnija. Her death sparked protests that contributed to the fall of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's government and drew attention to a "culture of impunity" in Malta.
The journalist's investigative pieces focused on people close to the then Prime Minister and their alleged links to companies in tax havens. At the time of her murder, she was facing more than 40 defamation lawsuits.
According to testimony from her son Matthew Caruana Galizia, delivered in court, the journalist in her final days was investigating alleged corruption in the ElectroGas project, connected to the construction of a gas-fired power plant. Prosecutors later charged Fenech — one of ElectroGas's key shareholders and a figure with links to both mafia and political circles — with ordering the murder, based on testimony from Melvin Theuma, who admitted to acting as a middleman.
Five men have been convicted in the case so far: brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio were found guilty in 2022 of installing and detonating the bomb; Vincent Muscat received a reduced sentence in 2021 in exchange for testimony that in 2025 led to the conviction of Robert Agius and Jamie Vella for supplying explosives.
AP added that in RSF's 2026 press freedom index, Malta ranked 67th out of 180 countries and territories — the fifth-worst among the 27 member states of the European Union.
Source: Aktuality