Malta businessman goes on trial for murder of prominent journalist

Malta Trial Begins for Yorgen Fenech in Daphne Caruana Galizia Assassination Case

Yorgen Fenech, a 44-year-old businessman, has gone on trial in Malta for his alleged role in the 2017 murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Fenech was arrested in 2019 while attempting to escape from a yacht off the coast of Malta.

Prosecutors allege that Fenech commissioned Melvin Theuma, a former taxi driver, to carry out the assassination. Theuma has since confessed to hiring three men to carry out the bombing and claimed he received $170,000 from Fenech as payment. Three men who carried out the bombing have pleaded guilty at the start of their trial.

The murder led to widespread protests in 2020, resulting in the resignation of then-premier Joseph Muscat. A public inquiry published in 2021 concluded that the state bore responsibility for the murder due to the “atmosphere of impunity” created by the government.

Fenech has denied the charges against him and is expected to face trial for several weeks. The journalist’s son, Paul Caruana Galizia, has expressed his support for the trial, stating that it will expose the truth about the events surrounding his mother’s death.

The trial is being closely watched by media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders, which has stated that it must “expose the truth” about the assassination.

Source: Al Jazeera