Jury Acquits Yorgen Fenech Over Murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia
· Updated
In brief
- A nine-member jury has acquitted Yorgen Fenech of all charges relating to the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
- Jurors returned an 8-1 not guilty verdict on charges of complicity in murder and criminal association.
- The Caruana Galizia family issued a statement reiterating the links between Fenech and senior government figures that Daphne had investigated.
Earlier, Fil-Qosor reported on how jurors retired to deliberate after Judge Edwina Grima concluded her address. A nine-member jury has now acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech of complicity in the 2017 car-bomb assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, as well as of criminal association to commit murder.
The verdict was delivered on Wednesday, bringing to a close one of the most high-profile trials in Maltese history. The jury reached an 8-1 majority decision in favour of acquittal on both counts.
Fenech had faced a potential life sentence if convicted on the charges of commissioning and facilitating the car-bomb murder.
Following the delivery of the verdict, the family of Daphne Caruana Galizia released a formal public statement.
In their statement, the family stressed that before she was killed, Caruana Galizia was investigating illicit financial connections involving Fenech, former energy minister Konrad Mizzi, and the former chief of staff to the Prime Minister.
The acquittal concludes extensive judicial proceedings that followed Fenech's initial arrest in November 2019.
Opposition leader Alex Borg has organised a silent demonstration outside the Office of the Prime Minister at the Auberge de Castille in Valletta, framing the acquittal as a failure of state accountability under the Labour administration.
Civil society organisation Repubblika and the family of Daphne Caruana Galizia reiterated that the verdict must not close the chapter on institutional shortcomings. The family emphasised that those who enabled, facilitated, or protected the perpetrators have yet to face full accountability, while broader commentary across independent outlets has intensified scrutiny on public officials, including calls for Attorney General Victoria Buttigieg to resign.
The Spin Room
Low media divide. Independent outlets focused consistently on political reactions, civil society calls for accountability, and public scrutiny of institutional figures following the verdict.
Updates
- : Updated with Opposition leader Alex Borg calling a silent protest outside the Office of the Prime Minister, alongside widespread calls from civil society and editorial commentary demanding institutional accountability and the resignation of Attorney General Victoria Buttigieg.