The ongoing trial of Yorgen Fenech, who is accused of commissioning the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, was not short of disturbing testimony this week. At the end of the week, Yorgen Fenech’s friend, Johann Cremona, gave even more disturbing details, revealing that Charles Mercieca was communicating with Keith Schembri in early 2020, when Mercieca was still serving as a prosecutor with the Attorney General’s Office.
More specifically, Charles Mercieca was involved in the case against Yorgen Fenech before switching sides in exchange for a fee from Fenech of at least €1 million per year.
The criminal lawyer, described by the Labour Party as “renowned”, was also involved in a bribery case against a journalist, which the prosecution lost on a technicality. Recently, he also conjured a fake story about wiretapping in prison and roped in the Chamber of Lawyers over his false claims.
He is the son of Labour MP Franco Mercieca and has emulated his father’s amoral opportunism, aimed at maximum extraction.
In Court, he also seems to do whatever he likes, receiving the Court’s consistent tolerance. Judge Edwina Grima has tolerated his snide comments throughout the compilation of evidence and the trial. “What’s for lunch?” he asked the Judge on one occasion this week. All the while, the Judge was less accommodating towards the prosecution, interrupting and even challenging them at times—treatment she clearly did not reserve for Charles Mercieca. Not to mention that she accepted his alleged claims of “contempt of court” without hearing a counterargument.
Yorgen Fenech has truly received value for his €1 million annual fee, specifically from a lawyer who seems privileged enough to act without consequences. Whether his antics will pay off remains to be seen by a jury.
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