Pacific Media Watch
Angered by the lack of full justice nearly a decade after the assassination of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has demanded the government take measures to protect journalists and media freedom.
On 2 September 2026, the Criminal Court in Valletta found Yorgen Fenech, the Maltese businessman linked to both the mafia and politicians, not guilty of “complicity” and “criminal association” in the killing of Galizia.
Almost nine years after the crime — Galizia was killed by a bomb planted in her car — after two months of trial and eight hours of deliberation, the jury at Valletta’s Criminal Court Fenech not guilty of the two charges he was facing: complicity and criminal association in the assassination of the investigative journalist.
Eight out of nine jurors voted not guilty on both accounts; at least six votes were needed to convict him. The trial, which RSF attended, started on July 1.
“We are beyond outraged. The verdict means that almost nine years since the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the Maltese authorities have failed to identify and convict the mastermind,” said Pavol Szalai, director, of the RSF Prague Bureau, in a statement.
“We stand in solidarity with the journalist’s family, which first suffered from Daphne’s loss and then painfully fought for justice only to learn that the man charged with ordering the assassination has been judged not guilty.
“Full justice must be served and Maltese authorities must implement the long overdue measures protecting journalists and media freedom — the absence of these measures contributed to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder, as concluded by the public inquiry into the crime five years ago.”
Investigation into corruption
The journalist was murdered on 16 October 2017 when her car exploded near her home in the town of Bidnija.
According to court testimony by her son, journalist Matthew Caruana Galizia, Daphne Caruana Galizia’s last days were dedicated to their joint investigation into alleged corruption in the Electrogas project, the construction of a power plant fuelled by natural gas.
Prosecutors accused Yorgen Fenech, one of Electrogas’ key shareholders and a businessman linked to both mafia and politicians, of ordering Daphne Caruana Galizia’s killing based on evidence and testimony by Melvin Theuma, who confessed to being a middleman in the murder.
Five men were convicted after Theuma received a pardon in 2019 in exchange for information about the killing.
In 2022, Malta’s Criminal Court found brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio guilty of installing and detonating the bomb in Daphne Caruana Galizia’s vehicle. The third perpetrator, Vincent Muscat, negotiated a reduced sentence in 2021 in exchange for his testimony, which contributed to the 2025 conviction of Robert Agius and Jamie Vella for supplying the explosives.
The public inquiry into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, which featured RSF’s testimony, said in its 2021 report that the state must “shoulder responsibility” for the crime.
The Maltese authorities have, however, systematically failed to enact most of the report’s recommendations.
Malta ranks 67th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2026 RSF World Press Freedom Index, the fifth worst among the 27 European Union member states.
Pacific Media Watch collaborates with Reporters Without Borders.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.