A jury in Malta acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech on Wednesday of ordering the 2017 car bomb killing of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, a verdict that triggered widespread shock and anger across the country.
Fenech, a wealthy heir to the Tumas Group, had been arrested on November 21, 2019, while attempting to flee by yacht. He spent five years and two months in preventive detention before trial. The prosecution presented witnesses and evidence over nearly two months beginning July 1, but the jury found him not guilty.
The acquittal left Malta in an unusual position: the five individuals convicted as the direct perpetrators of the bombing remain imprisoned, but no one has been found guilty of ordering the attack. The car bomb detonated on October 16, 2017, killing Caruana Galizia as she drove near her home.
Matthew Caruana Galizia, the journalist's son, called the verdict "obscene." Public reaction included expressions of disgust, shame, distrust, and anger, with demonstrations taking place in the streets. Opposition parties attacked the government, and a wave of deep indignation swept through the country.
The case had been expected to provide closure to what many Maltese citizens viewed as a national shame. Instead, nearly nine years after the bombing, the acquittal reopened wounds and revived the political tensions that had surrounded the investigation and prosecution.