Maltese Tycoon on Trial for Journalist's Murder
Quick Look
Maltese tycoon Yorgen Fenech is on trial, accused of orchestrating the 2017 car bomb murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, a case that exposed high-level corruption and drew global condemnation, putting Malta's rule of law in question.
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Why It Matters
Investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb in 2017 after exposing high-level corruption in Malta, a crime that rocked the island nation and brought down a government.
A Maltese tycoon went on trial on Wednesday accused of ordering the murder of a hard-hitting investigative journalist that rocked the island nation, brought down a government and drew global condemnation.
Suspect Yorgen Fenech is charged with orchestrating the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, 53, a prominent public figure and vocal critic who was killed by a bomb placed in her car near her home.
“Nine years after my mother’s murder, the man accused of commissioning it stands trial,” the journalist’s son, Paul Caruana Galizia, wrote on social media.
A lawyer for the family, Jason Azzopardi, confirmed that the trial had begun and that Fenech was in court.
Caruana Galizia had exposed corruption at the highest level in the country, shining a spotlight on murky links between Malta’s business and political elites.
The death of the popular journalist and blogger described as a “one-woman WikiLeaks” sparked outrage around the world and put Malta, the European Union’s smallest member state, in the spotlight over its apparent rule-of-law failings.
Open Questions
- What will be the verdict in Yorgen Fenech's trial?
- What further details will emerge during the trial?
