Particle.news
Download on the App Store
3 ARTICLES
·
3d ago

Magnate Cleared in Daphne Caruana Galizia Case as Questions Over Mastermind Persist

By leaving unanswered who ordered the 2017 car bomb, the verdict deepens doubts about Malta’s ability to deliver full accountability for the killing.

People hold placards and photos of killed journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia during a protest called for by Galizia's family and civic movements on December 3, 2019 outside the police headquarters in Valletta. The scandal-dogged probe into the murder of investigative reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia has damaged relations between Malta and the EU, the head of a European Parliament fact-finding delegation said on December 3. The urgent mission of seven MEPs to the Mediterranean island follows an escalation in the murder case and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's decision to resign over what critics have called a botched investigation.
La journaliste Daphne Caruana Galizia a été tuée en 2017 dans l’explosion d’une voiture piégée, suscitant une indignation internationale.
Image

Overview

  • A Valletta court acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech of ordering the 2017 car-bomb murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, a verdict delivered Wednesday that set off protests in the capital.
  • Hundreds of demonstrators and opposition parties denounced the decision and press-freedom groups including the CPJ and RSF urged Maltese authorities to pursue further action to identify those who planned the attack.
  • Courts have previously convicted the operatives who built and placed the bomb and two men who supplied the explosive received life sentences in June 2025, but no legal finding has identified a mastermind.
  • A 2021 public inquiry had found the state had fostered a 'climate of impunity' that helped create the conditions for the killing and the verdict is renewing scrutiny of Malta’s political and judicial institutions.
  • The government said it had 'taken note' of the ruling and urged caution in public comment, leaving the family, civil society and international observers calling for new lines of investigation and political answers.