Outrage as Maltese tycoon acquitted of reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder

A Maltese court has acquitted tycoon Yorgen Fenech of orchestrating the 2017 car-bomb killing of investigative reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia. Fenech, 44, was accused of complicity in her murder and criminal association to commit murder, but was cleared of both counts by an 8-1 margin after an eight-hour jury deliberation.

Caruana Galizia, a 53-year-old journalist, was killed in October 2017 by a car bomb. She had gained international prominence for her investigations into corruption, money laundering, and organised crime, which she published on her blog. Her murder sparked outrage around the world, put Malta in the spotlight over its apparent rule-of-law failings, and led to a political crisis, including the resignation of then-premier Joseph Muscat in January 2020.

According to Caruana Galizia's family, her murder was a result of the "institutional failures that enabled her murder [which] remain unaddressed and unreformed." Her family said they wept in court, while Fenech's family members screamed with delight. The acquittal has been met with criticism from media freedom advocates and Caruana Galizia's family, who say it denies her the justice she deserves.

Brief written by urgent.news from Euronews, KahawaTungu, New Straits Times, France 24, Sky News — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.