Jury acquits Maltese business tycoon in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia

Jury acquits Maltese business tycoon Yorgen Fenech in the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The verdict was delivered on Wednesday, marking the end of a protracted legal battle that spanned nearly nine years since the journalist’s death. Fenech, 44, was found not guilty on all charges, including complicity in murder and criminal association. The nine-member jury reached an 8-1 decision, clearing Fenech of both counts. The prosecution, represented by prosecutors Anthony Vella and Godwin Cini, is expected to file an appeal against the ruling. The trial, which took place in Valletta, Malta’s capital, began on July 1, 2023, after years of procedural delays. It was one of the longest jury trials in Malta’s legal history, lasting 55 sitting days. Fenech, the heir to a multimillion-euro property empire, had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Prosecutors argued that he orchestrated the killing of Caruana Galizia through a network of intermediaries, including a middleman known as Melvin Theuma, a taxi driver who was arrested in 2019 and later granted a presidential pardon. Theuma, who testified for eight days, described how Fenech had approached him weeks before the 2017 general election to arrange the murder. He broke down in tears during his testimony, apologizing to Caruana Galizia’s sons. Caruana Galizia, 53, was killed on October 16, 2017, when a bomb placed under the driver’s seat of her car was detonated as she drove away from her home. She had been investigating corruption within Maltese politics and business, including allegations linking offshore deals to high-ranking officials. Her work focused on uncovering irregularities around 17 Black, a UAE-based company at the heart of a corruption case, and the ElectroGas power station project, in which Fenech held a stake. The murder sparked widespread outrage and triggered mass protests, leading to the resignation of several officials, including Keith Schembri, the chief of staff to then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, and Muscat himself in early 2020. During the trial, Fenech’s defense team, led by Giannella de Marco and Charles Mercieca, challenged the prosecution’s reliance on Theuma’s testimony, arguing that the state had built its case on a pardoned accomplice while neglecting to investigate other potential suspects. Fenech himself testified, asserting that Schembri, rather than himself, was the true mastermind behind the assassination. Schembri, who appeared in court for three days, denied any involvement and stated he was “600 million percent” not the mastermind. Police confirmed that Schembri had never been considered a suspect. Five other individuals have already been convicted for their roles in the murder. In 2021, Vincent Muscat pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. In 2022, brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio were each given 40-year sentences for planting and detonating the bomb. In 2025, Robert Agius and Jamie Vella received life sentences for supplying the military-grade explosive used in the attack. Theuma, who admitted his role as a middleman, was granted a presidential pardon in November 2019 in exchange for his cooperation with the investigation. The verdict has drawn sharp criticism from advocacy groups and journalists. Pavol Szalai, director of the Prague bureau of Reporters Without Borders, expressed outrage, stating that the Maltese authorities had failed to identify and convict the mastermind behind the killing. Caruana Galizia’s family echoed these sentiments, calling the outcome a failure to address the institutional flaws that allowed the murder to occur. Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg responded by organizing a protest outside Parliament, declaring that Malta still lacked full justice in the case. As the prosecution prepares to appeal the verdict, the case remains a symbol of the challenges facing Maltese institutions in holding powerful figures accountable for crimes committed in the name of political influence. The trial has underscored the complex interplay between journalism, corruption, and the rule of law in a small European nation grappling with the legacy of a journalist whose work exposed deep-seated systemic issues.