Trial of Yorgen Fenech Begins in Malta Over 2017 Murder of Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia

Yorgen Fenech went on trial Wednesday in Valletta on charges of complicity in the voluntary homicide of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and criminal association with intent to commit murder. A jury was sworn in at the courts of justice. Prosecutors said the case warrants a life sentence on the homicide count and 20 to 30 years on the association count.

Fenech, 44, has denied all charges. Caruana Galizia, 53, was killed when a bomb placed under the driver’s seat of her car exploded near her home in Bidnija on 17 October 2017. Three men were arrested days later in a warehouse raid.

Brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio each received 40-year sentences in 2022 for the killing. Robert Agius and Jamie Vella each received life sentences in 2025 for supplying the bomb, while Vincent Muscat obtained a pardon in exchange for testimony.

A taxi driver arrested in 2019 while carrying USB drives with recordings he said captured conversations with Fenech claimed the businessman ordered the attack and paid €150,000 for it, France 24 reported.

Fenech was arrested the same month after boarding a yacht intercepted by the military. He remained in custody until February 2025, when he was released on €200,000 bail plus a family shareholding valued at about €50 million, France 24 reported. Caruana Galizia’s three sons attended the opening of the trial.

Fenech’s legal team has challenged the proceedings on grounds of pretrial publicity and disputed the reliability of the taxi driver’s testimony, France 24 reported. The trial is expected to last several weeks.