Yorgen Fenech acquitted in Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case

Almost nine years after the car bomb murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta, businessman Yorgen Fenech has been acquitted of the charge of being the mastermind of the crime. A jury in Valletta acquitted the 44-year-old entrepreneur of both accessory to murder and criminal conspiracy charges.

The jury's vote was clear at 8 to 1. In the morning, the jury retired to deliberate and make their decision. Fenech is one of Malta's wealthiest men.

Contract killer already sentenced to prison

Caruana Galizia was blown up in her car near her home on October 16, 2017. The 53-year-old was considered one of the best-known investigative reporters in the country. She had researched corruption in politics and business in her country. Her murder is considered one of the most spectacular murder cases in the history of the small EU state.

A total of three contract killers - including two brothers - pleaded guilty several years ago and are now serving prison sentences of between 15 and 40 years. Two other men convicted of supplying the bomb used in the deadly attack received life sentences.

Fenech was arrested in November 2019 as he left a port on his yacht. The prosecution relied on evidence from his chauffeur, Melvin Theuma. He confessed to having acted as an intermediary in the murder and received a pardon in return for his testimony.

The arrest and the suspicion that high-ranking government officials were also involved sparked nationwide protests in December 2019. The then head of government, Joseph Muscat, was accused of wanting to protect friends and allies during the investigation. Muscat resigned in January 2020. An investigation published in 2021 concluded that the government had created a "climate of impunity" for those who sought to silence Caruana Galizia.

Caruana Galizia researched Fenech's business

Fenech was director of the power plant consortium that Caruana Galizia researched extensively before she was murdered. Because of this connection, Fenech was targeted by investigators after the murder.

Theuma stated that he was an intermediary between the murderers and Fenech as the client - Fenech gave him 150,000 euros. He backed up his testimony with recordings and text messages in which he and Fenech discussed the hitmen and the murder investigation.

Fenech admitted knowing about the murder plans, but said his former friend Keith Schembri framed him for the murder. Schembri was the real mastermind of the murder. At the time, Schembri was chief of staff to then Prime Minister Muscat.

Family reacts shocked to acquittal

Caruana Galizia's family reacted with disappointment to Fenech's acquittal. This denied the journalist the justice she deserved. Today was supposed to be hers, the family explained. The institutional failures that made her murder possible have still not been addressed, the statement continued.

The Maltese civil rights organization Occupy Justice announced that it would continue the fight for justice until "the entire chain of responsibility" for the murder was cleared up.

With information from Tilmann Kleinjung, ARD Rome