Yorgen Fenech acquitted of masterminding Daphne Caruana Galizia murder
A Maltese court acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech of ordering the 2017 assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. PEN International condemned the verdict as a further blow to justice.
Malta acquits Fenech of Caruana Galizia murder, drawing sharp criticism from press freedom groups
Malta's Criminal Court in Valletta found businessman Yorgen Fenech not guilty on 2 September 2026 of complicity and criminal association in the assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed by a car bomb in October 2017.
Prosecutors have limited grounds to appeal the verdict. PEN International reported the acquittal on 4 September 2026, calling on Maltese authorities to urgently hold all those responsible for the killing to account.
Five individuals have previously been sentenced to lengthy prison terms in connection with Caruana Galizia's murder. However, no mastermind has yet been convicted, and the Fenech verdict leaves that question unresolved. The ruling drew immediate criticism from the Caruana Galizia family and press freedom organisations in Malta and internationally.
"Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered for doing journalism. Every year that passes without a full, credible accounting of who ordered her killing, and without consequences for the state actors who enabled the conditions for it, is a renewed assault on her memory and on press freedom in Malta," said Kurt Borg, President of PEN Malta. "It tells every journalist in this country what happens to those who investigate power here."
Caruana Galizia was 53 years old when a car bomb detonated as she drove away from her home in Bidnija on 16 October 2017. She had been one of Malta's most prominent investigative journalists and anti-corruption campaigners. Following her death, dozens of civil defamation lawsuits continued against her estate posthumously, and journalists and human rights defenders who campaigned on the case faced harassment and acts of reprisal.
A landmark public inquiry in July 2021 concluded that her assassination was both predictable and preventable. The inquiry pointed to the responsibility of the Maltese state for her death, citing a collapse in the rule of law and the failure of authorities to take protective measures on her behalf. Press freedom groups including PEN International and PEN Malta have since repeatedly urged Maltese authorities to implement the inquiry's recommendations in full.
Judyth Hill, Chair of PEN International's Women Writers Committee, said the organisation stood in full solidarity with the Caruana Galizia family. "Those who killed Daphne sought to silence her, yet her powerful legacy lives on. We will continue to honour Daphne's memory and will not rest until full accountability for her murder and the corruption she died exposing has been achieved," Hill said.
PEN International and PEN Malta have campaigned for justice in the case since the killing. Among their initiatives, PEN devised a poetry memorial as a tribute to Caruana Galizia's dedication to freedom of expression.
Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)