Businessman Acquitted of Involvement in Maltese Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia’s Murder

Jorgen Fenech walked out of a Maltese court as a free man after jurors cleared him of involvement in the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The jury voted eight to one to acquit Fenech on both charges: complicity in the killing and conspiracy to have Caruana Galizia murdered. He had faced a possible life sentence.

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Failed Daphne twice

Fenech, an heir to a property business empire worth hundreds of millions, was the last of seven defendants to stand trial over the killing. Jurors deliberated for more than eight hours after Judge Edwina Grima completed her instructions and reviewed the evidence presented during the proceedings.

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A disturbing message

Relatives of Fenech shouted with joy when the verdict was read shortly after 7:30 p.m. Members of Caruana Galizia’s family were seen crying in the courtroom. Discontent was also heard outside as defense lawyer Charles Mercieca left. One person shouted, “Are you happy now that the killer is on the street? Scum.”

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom said Malta had “failed Daphne twice”: first by failing to protect her, and then by failing to deliver justice after her murder. The organization said the acquittal sent “a disturbing message” to those who attack and kill journalists and insisted that “this verdict is not the end of the story.”

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This verdict is not the end of the story.

Caruana Galizia’s family said the acquittal denied Daphne “the justice she deserves” and that the day “should have belonged to Daphne.”

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The justice she deserves