Malta businessman acquitted in journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case

Yorgen Fenech avoided a possible life sentence after a Maltese jury acquitted him of involvement in the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The jury cleared the 44-year-old businessman by an 8-1 margin on charges of complicity in murder and criminal association to commit murder.

Fenech had been accused of commissioning the car-bomb attack that killed Caruana Galizia in 2017. She was driving near her home when the bomb exploded. Her investigations had focused extensively on suspected corruption in Malta’s political and business worlds, and she faced about 40 libel suits at the time of her death.

Fenech denied wanting the journalist killed because she was preparing to publish an investigation involving him. He made no comment after leaving the courtroom, where a crowd outside shouted insults at him.

Caruana Galizia’s sons attended the reading of the verdict. Her family said the institutional failures that led to the murder “remain unaddressed and unreformed.” The family added: “Lasting justice means no person should ever face the same risks again. Our country failed to protect Daphne's life. It owes it to her to prevent other lives being lost.”

Five people have been convicted in connection with the killing, including three found guilty of carrying it out. All five remain in prison.

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Lasting justice means no person should ever face the same risks again. Our country failed to protect Daphne's life. It owes it to her to prevent other lives being lost.