Maltese Jury Acquits Fenech in Journalist’s Murder

A Maltese jury has acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech, who was accused of commissioning the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Fenech was tried for complicity to murder and criminal association to commit murder. After eight hours of deliberation, eight of the nine jurors voted to acquit him. He could have faced life in prison if convicted.

Caruana Galizia was killed in a car bombing in October 2017. Her murder shocked Europe and triggered a political crisis in Malta. The jury heard that Fenech wanted the journalist killed because she was preparing to reveal information about him.

Fenech denied the accusations, while his defense sought to implicate Keith Schembri, the former chief of staff to then Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

Police told the court that Schembri had never been a suspect, and he has denied any role in the murder. Following the verdict, Caruana Galizia’s family said the institutional failures that enabled her murder remained unaddressed.

(Reuters, mja)