A Maltese businessman, Yorgen Fenech, has been acquitted of charges related to the 2017 murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Fenech, 44, had been accused of complicity in her murder and criminal association to commit murder, allegations he denied.
A jury found Fenech not guilty on both counts by an 8-1 margin after eight hours of deliberation. His family members expressed joy in the courtroom, while Caruana Galizia's family reacted with tears. "Nine years after Daphne's brutal assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed," her family said in a statement, as reported by local media. "Lasting justice means no person should ever face the same risks again. Our country failed to protect Daphne's life. It owes it to her to prevent other lives being lost."
Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb in October 2017. She was a prominent critic of the government and known for her investigations into corruption, money laundering, and organized crime, which she published on her blog, "Running Commentary." She was also involved in the 2016 Panama Papers investigation, which exposed offshore structures and led to corruption allegations against high-ranking Maltese officials.
In 2022, brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio were sentenced to 40 years in prison for carrying out the assassination. Caruana Galizia's killing at the age of 53 prompted widespread public outrage and protests in Malta.