A jury in Malta acquits a businessman in the killing of reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia

Flowers and a candle lie in front of a portrait of slain investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia during a vigil outside the law courts in Valletta, Malta, Oct. Jonathan Borg/AP hide caption VALLETA, Malta — A jury in Malta on Wednesday acquitted the Maltese businessman accused of being the mastermind of the 2017 car bomb killing of crusading investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Caruana Galizia's killing shocked Europe, led to protests that toppled a prime minister and exposed a culture of impunity on the Mediterranean island nation, the European Union's smallest. Yorgen Fenech, a prominent Maltese businessman, was indicted in 2021 on charges of complicity and criminal conspiracy. Prosecutors accused him of being the mastermind of the slaying and of having ordered and paid for it.

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Scoop News DeskMalta · Published Wednesday, September 2, 2026 at 7:48 PM UTCUpdated Wednesday, September 2, 2026 at 9:56 PM UTC

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In a statement later posted to Facebook, the family said the verdict denied Caruana Galizia the "justice she deserves." "Nine years after Daphne's brutal assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed. 1 dead — Caruana Galizia, 53 He pleaded not guilty and the jury on Wednesday found him not guilty on both counts. Kevin Schembri Orland/AP hide caption She had written extensively about suspected corruption in political and business circles in Malta, with investigative reports targeting people in then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's inner circle whom she accused of having offshore companies in tax havens disclosed in the Panama Papers leak.

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