Malta's judicial system has finally brought one of its most high-profile suspects to trial – Yorgen Fenech, a 44-year-old businessman with significant interests in property and hospitality, stands accused of orchestrating the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The €150,000 (£130,000) alleged payment to three hitmen, which sparked the assassination on 16 October 2017, has sent shockwaves through Europe.
Caruana Galizia's fearless reporting had long made her a thorn in the side of Malta's ruling elite; her incisive exposés into corruption and malpractice among government figures and business leaders earned her many admirers, but also attracted fierce criticism and threats. When her car was blown up by a bomb hidden in a shoebox as she drove home from work that fateful day, international outrage was swift and vociferous – with calls for justice ringing out across the globe.
Fenech's trial began this week at Malta's courts of justice in Valletta, despite initial delays seven years ago when he was first arrested. Dressed in a navy suit, Fenech denied all charges, which include complicity in Caruana Galizia's murder and association with individuals bent on committing a crime.
The prosecution outlined its case, detailing how the alleged plot began to take shape in April 2017. Fenech is accused of approaching his friend Melvin Theuma, a taxi driver turned bookmaker, asking him to find someone to kill Caruana Galizia – with even suggesting a specific hitman, George Degiorgio. The motive, allegedly, was to prevent the journalist from publishing a story about his uncle; an initial payment of €30,000 was made as part of the €150,000 agreement.
The high-temperature heat in Valletta proved too much for one reserve juror, who fainted during the five-hour jury selection process. The selected jurors will be segregated throughout the trial, staying in a hotel without access to digital devices under Maltese law. Fenech is now the last of seven men accused of involvement in the killing to face justice; five have been convicted and one secured a pardon for his testimony.