As Yorgen Fenech left the courthouse in Valletta on Wednesday evening, he was confronted by the furious crowd outside.
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he → leave → crowd
The 44-year-old Maltese businessman pushed through, flanked by his security guards.
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businessman → push → guards
Just minutes earlier, a jury had acquitted him of ordering the murder of the 53-year-old investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
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jury → acquit → journalist
The verdict came as a shock to her family.
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verdict → come → family
Her son, Matthew Caruana Galizia, said it was a "terrible decision by the jurors that our country may never recover from."
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country → say → that
He later doubled down on his criticism, describing the verdict in a post on Facebook as "obscene" and saying: "Their decision flies in the face of all evidence, of all logic, of the truth."
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decision → double → truth
Almost nine years after Caruana Galizia's murder, Malta is again confronted with the crucial question: Who was responsible for her death on October 16, 2017?
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Who → confront → October
The men who procured the bomb, placed it under the driver's seat and detonated it remotely have already been convicted.
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who → procure → it
But the person who contracted them to do it has still not been legally identified.
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who → contract → it
For years, Fenech was considered to be the central figure in the investigations.
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Fenech → consider → investigations
His luxury yacht, Gio, had just left harbor when it was stopped by a Maltese military patrol boat.
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it → leave → boat
Fenech was arrested on board and subsequently interrogated by the police.
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Fenech → arrest → police
Fenech's arrest, and suspicion that people in government circles were involved in the crime, sparked protests all across the country.
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people → involve → country
Joseph Muscat, prime minister at the time, was accused of protecting political allies and stepped down in January 2020.
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Muscat → accuse → January
Fenech spent more than five years in detention before being released on bail, under strict conditions, in early 2025.
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Fenech → spend → 2025
His trial only began this summer, and the final verdict was decisive.
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verdict → begin → ?
Eight of the nine jurors rejected the prosecution's argument that it was Fenech who had ordered the journalist's murder.
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who → reject → murder
The prosecution case relied above all on the testimony of Melvin Theuma, who confessed to being the middleman and testified that Fenech had contracted him to organize the murder.
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Fenech → rely → murder
Theuma received a pardon in exchange for his cooperation.
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Theuma → receive → cooperation
But Fenech's defense called Theuma's credibility into question, highlighting contradictions in his testimony and false statements he had made previously.
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he → call → testimony
Fenech's lawyers also sought to prove that evidence pointing to Keith Schembri, chief of staff to Muscat at the time, was not properly followed up.
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evidence → seek → time
Schembri has denied any involvement in the murder, and the investigators did not charge him as a suspect in this case.
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investigators → deny → case
The public prosecutors' argument was that Caruana Galizia had been investigating Fenech, specifically his company 17 Black and the energy consortium ElectroGas, on suspicion of corruption.
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Galizia → investigate → corruption
This, they said, meant Fenech had a motive for silencing her.
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Fenech → say → her
She had not, however, been on the point of publishing anything that could have threatened him.
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that → publish → him
Many in Malta are outraged by the not-guilty verdict.
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Many → outrage → verdict
But there is no indication to date that Fenech did not receive a fair trial, or that the process was manipulated.
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process → be → trial
For him to be convicted, Fenech's guilt had to be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
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guilt → convict → doubt
Caruana Galizia's family are therefore also focusing on institutional failures that they believe facilitated the murder.
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they → focus → murder
They complain that these have not been addressed, and necessary reforms not implemented.
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reforms → complain → ?
An official investigation already established, in 2021, that an "atmosphere of impunity" in Malta created conditions that made the murder possible.
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murder → establish → conditions
Since then, Malta has made progress with a series of reforms, but many say they do not go far enough.
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they → make → reforms
In 2021, the committee of inquiry recommended that journalists be better protected against political and economic pressure and their role institutionally strengthened, yet the country is still waiting for comprehensive media reform.
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country → recommend → reform
Following years of discussion and a public consultation, the Maltese government brought the relevant bill before parliament in March 2026, but the legislation was not passed before early parliamentary elections in May.
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legislation → follow → May
In its latest Rule of Law Report, the European Commission only certifies limited progress made by Malta.
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Commission → certify → Malta
It acknowledges that it has introduced some specific protection measures for journalists, but says core recommendations from the investigation into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia remain unfulfilled.
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recommendations → acknowledge → Galizia
Government sees progress
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Government → see → progress
But the government paints a different picture.
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government → paint → picture
It has highlighted changes to the judiciary and anti-corruption measures, as well as better protection of journalistic sources, and additional measures to protect media professionals.
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It → highlight → professionals
This is what the EU Commission referred to as progress in specific areas.
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Commission → refer → areas
…and 11 more, not listed.
