VALLETA, Malta – A jury in Malta delivered a verdict on Wednesday that has reignited calls for accountability in the murder of crusading journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The panel acquitted Yorgen Fenech, a prominent Maltese businessman, of both complicity and criminal conspiracy charges linked to the 2017 car‑bomb attack that killed the 53‑year‑old reporter.
Background on the case
Caruana Galizia was assassinated on Oct. 16, 2017 when a bomb detonated as she drove near her home. Her reporting exposed alleged corruption in political and business circles, including offshore companies tied to then‑Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s inner circle. At the time of her death she faced more than 40 libel suits.
Fenech was indicted in 2021 after investigators alleged he had ordered and financed the killing. He pleaded not guilty, and the jury’s decision cleared him of all charges, making him the last of a half‑dozen defendants in the plot to be tried.
Reactions and fallout
The courtroom was tense, and after the verdict Fenech left the Valletta courthouse amid a chaotic scene of hecklers and a waiting car. He offered no comment. Caruana Galizia’s sons, who were present, also remained silent.
In a Facebook post, the family condemned the decision, stating the verdict denied their mother the “justice she deserves.” The statement read, “Nine years after Daphne’s brutal assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed. Lasting justice means no person should ever face the same risks again.”
Previous convictions in the plot
Several co‑accused have already been sentenced. In 2022, brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio pleaded guilty to carrying out the bombing and received 40‑year terms. In 2025, Jamie Vella and Robert Agius were sentenced to life imprisonment for supplying the bomb, while Vincent Muscat received a 15‑year term after pleading guilty in 2021. A self‑confessed middleman, taxi driver Melvin Theuma, was granted a presidential pardon in 2019 in exchange for testimony.
Broader implications
The murder sparked massive protests that eventually forced Prime Minister Muscat to resign, highlighting a culture of impunity that an independent 2021 inquiry said the Maltese state must bear responsibility for. The acquittal revives concerns about press freedom and the rule of law on the EU’s smallest member state.
No cameras were permitted inside the courtroom, as is customary in Maltese criminal trials.
Original reporting: Alexandria, VA News – WTOP News — read the source article.
