Businessman on trial in Malta over prominent journalist’s murder

Yorgen Fenech is charged with orchestrating the assassination of writer Daphne Caruana Galizia.

A businessman arrested 7 years agone for the 2017 execution of investigative writer Daphne Caruana Galizia has gone connected proceedings successful Malta.

Yorgen Fenech, 44, was arrested connected a yacht disconnected Malta successful 2019, successful what prosecutors said was an flight bid.

Fenech is charged with orchestrating the assassination of past 53-year-old Caruana Galizia, 1 of Malta’s astir salient journalists.

At the clip of her killing, the writer was investigating corruption and kickback allegations against an offshore institution called “17 Black”.

Following the murder, it was revealed that Fenech was the proprietor of 17 Black.

“Nine years aft my mother’s murder, the antheral accused of commissioning it stands trial,” the journalist’s son, Paul Caruana Galizia, wrote connected societal media connected Wednesday.

Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed erstwhile a weaponry placed successful her car blew up arsenic she drove distant from her location connected the tiny Mediterranean island.

Prosecutors allege that Fenech commissioned a erstwhile taxi driver, Melvin Theuma, to find idiosyncratic to transportation retired the murder.

Theuma yet ‌confessed to hiring 3 men to transportation retired the bombing, telling the authorities that helium received $170,000 from Fenech arsenic payment.

Three men who carried retired the bombing were arrested weeks aft the execution and ⁠pleaded blameworthy astatine the commencement of their trial.

Two men who supplied the weaponry were fixed beingness sentences successful 2025, portion the 3rd accused was fixed a reduced condemnation successful instrumentality for information.

“This historical proceedings indispensable exposure the information astir the despicable transgression crippled and the deadly concatenation of events that led to the execution of a writer wrong the European Union,” said media state watchdog Reporters Without Borders successful a connection astatine the commencement of Fenech’s trial.

The sidesplitting led to the resignation of then-premier Joseph Muscat successful 2020 pursuing wide protests implicit his government’s handling of the investigation.

A public inquiry published successful 2021 concluded the authorities “shouldered responsibility” for the execution owed to the “atmosphere of impunity” the authorities had created.

Fenech has denied the charges against him. His proceedings is expected to past for respective weeks.