DistantNews
Support us
🇬🇧 United Kingdom /Crime & Justice

Maltese tycoon found not guilty of involvement in Daphne Caruana Galizia murder

From The Guardian · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • A jury found businessman Yorgen Fenech not guilty of complicity in Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder and of association to commit a crime.
  • Prosecutors accused Fenech of paying €150,000 through an intermediary to arrange the journalist’s killing, and sought a life sentence.
  • The verdict followed a trial that examined Fenech’s political connections and allegations that sensitive police information had been leaked to him; prosecutors are expected to appeal.

Yorgen Fenech, one of Malta’s richest businessmen, has been cleared of involvement in the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, nearly nine years after she was killed in a car bombing.

A jury of six women and three men found Fenech not guilty on both charges: complicity in the voluntary homicide of Caruana Galizia and association with the intention of committing a crime. The forewoman said the jury rejected both counts by an eight-to-one majority, prompting gasps and cheers in the courtroom as family members and journalists watched.

You are being asked to decide whether a man who had extensive contacts in politics and among the heads of public entities had enough power to pay for Daphne to be killed.

— Anthony VellaThe prosecutor summarized the case against Fenech and argued that his political connections gave him the power to arrange the killing.

Prosecutors had accused Fenech of paying €150,000 through an intermediary, Melvin Theuma, to have Caruana Galizia killed. They sought a life sentence. The prosecution is expected to appeal the verdict.

All roads lead to Keith, and all bridges to Keith were burned.

— Charles MerciecaFenech’s defence lawyer argued that investigators should have pursued allegations involving Keith Schembri.

Caruana Galizia, who had reported critically on Fenech and senior political figures, was 53 when she died in October 2017. Her murder became a rallying point for anti-corruption and press freedom activists and triggered Malta’s biggest postwar political scandal. Joseph Muscat, then the country’s prime minister, eventually left office, along with two ministers and his chief of staff.

The two-month trial exposed the breadth of Fenech’s political contacts and focused attention on alleged interference with the police investigation. Witnesses and Fenech said Muscat’s former chief of staff, Keith Schembri, had repeatedly received sensitive information. The defence argued that investigators had failed to pursue allegations against Schembri. “All roads lead to Keith, and all bridges to Keith were burned,” defence lawyer Charles Mercieca told the jury. Fenech himself said: “I never ordered Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder, or anyone else’s. I had no role in her murder.”

I never ordered Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder, or anyone else’s. I had no role in her murder.

— Yorgen FenechFenech denied ordering the journalist’s murder during his testimony.
About this summary

Originally published by The Guardian. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog