A Maltese jury acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech, 44, of complicity in the 2017 car-bomb murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and criminal association by an 8-1 majority. The verdict, delivered Wednesday after a two-month trial, ordered Fenech's immediate release. Prosecutors alleged Fenech paid €150,000 via middleman Melvin Theuma to orchestrate the killing. The prosecution said it would appeal.
Five individuals have already been convicted for roles in the assassination: brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio and Vincent Muscat for carrying out the bombing, and Robert Agius and Jamie Vella for supplying the explosives. The murder triggered mass protests that forced Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's resignation in 2020. A 2021 public inquiry concluded the state bore responsibility for creating an "atmosphere of impunity" that enabled the crime.
Caruana Galizia's family and press freedom groups condemned the verdict as a denial of justice. Her sister Corinne Vella warned it signals journalists can be killed with impunity. Reporters Without Borders said Maltese authorities failed to convict the mastermind after nearly nine years. Opposition leader Alex Borg demanded parliament reconvene, calling the outcome a "black spot" on the government. The administration appealed for prudence while affirming commitment to justice.
The acquittal leaves the alleged mastermind unconvicted despite extensive evidence of Fenech's political networks and allegations that the prime minister's former chief of staff Keith Schembri leaked investigation details to him. Theuma's immunity deal testimony directly implicated Fenech, yet jurors rejected the prosecution's case. Institutional reforms recommended by the 2021 inquiry remain unimplemented, according to the victim's family.