Malta court clears businessman Yorgen Fenech over murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia; family says 'institutional failures' remain unaddressed

A Maltese court has acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech of charges related to the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed in a car bomb attack in October 2017. The jury's decision, rendered after eight hours of deliberation, was an 8-1 vote clearing Fenech of complicity to murder and criminal association to commit murder.¹⁷⁸

Fenech, 44, faced potential life imprisonment if convicted. His acquittal has reignited discussions about the institutional failures that allowed for Caruana Galizia's assassination. Her family expressed their grief in the courtroom, stating, “Nine years after Daphne’s brutal assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed.”⁴⁵⁹

The family emphasized the need for lasting justice, asserting that “Our country failed to protect Daphne’s life. It owes it to her to prevent other lives being lost.” The case has drawn significant attention to Malta's political and judicial systems, which have been criticized for their handling of corruption and crime.

Fenech, who was arrested in 2019, did not comment as he left the courtroom, where emotions ran high; his family celebrated while Caruana Galizia's relatives mourned. Three men have already been convicted for carrying out the murder, serving lengthy sentences, but the acquittal of Fenech raises questions about the broader implications for justice in Malta.

“These people saw through who was lying,” said Giannella de Marco, Fenech's defense lawyer, indicating that the jury did not trust the testimony of the murder plot's middleman.