Yorgen Fenech‘s trial over the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia is entering its final stage, with Madam Justice Edwina Grima currently summing up the case for the jury.
Both the prosecution and the defence have concluded their submissions following more than 50 days of proceedings. The judge is now taking jurors through the evidence and explaining the legal principles they must apply when reaching their verdict. Once her summing-up is completed, the jurors will retire to deliberate on whether Fenech is guilty or not guilty of the two charges against him. Fenech has pleaded not guilty to both.
The charges are contained in Bill of Indictment 17/2021, filed by the Attorney General.
Complicity in the wilful homicide of Daphne Caruana Galizia
The first and most serious charge is complicity in the wilful homicide of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
The prosecution alleges that Fenech made himself an accomplice in Caruana Galizia’s murder by allegedly ordering, instigating, financing or otherwise assisting in the commission of the crime.
Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb near her Bidnija home on October 16, 2017.
The indictment formally asks that, if Fenech is found guilty on this count, he be sentenced to life imprisonment.
Under Maltese law, an accomplice can be subjected to the punishment applicable to the person who carried out the offence, while wilful homicide carries a punishment of life imprisonment.
This means that on the first charge alone, Yorgen Fenech risks spending the rest of his life in prison if convicted.
Conspiracy to commit the murder
The second charge concerns conspiracy to commit the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
The indictment accuses Fenech of associating with one or more people for the purpose of committing a crime in Malta punishable by imprisonment—in this case, the wilful homicide of Caruana Galizia.
Maltese law provides that a person guilty of conspiracy is liable to the punishment applicable to the completed offence, reduced by two or three degrees. Article 48A of the Criminal Code specifically regulates conspiracy to commit a crime.
For this second count, the Attorney General is requesting a prison sentence of between 20 and 30 years if Fenech is convicted.
Therefore, the two charges currently being decided by the jury expose Fenech to:
- Life imprisonment for complicity in the wilful homicide of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
- 20 to 30 years in prison for conspiracy to commit the murder.
The jury does not determine the sentence. Its task is to decide whether the prosecution has proven Fenech’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt on each of the two charges. If it returns a guilty verdict, it will then be for the Criminal Court to impose the applicable punishment.
Judge Edwina Grima has reminded the jurors that Fenech remains presumed innocent unless and until they return a guilty verdict and that the burden of proving the case rests entirely with the prosecution.
Her summing-up is the final procedural step before the nine jurors retire to deliberate, bringing Malta’s most historic criminal trials to its decisive stage.
You can find Yorgen Fenech’s bill of indictment here.
Yorgen Fenech’s charge sheet here.
Newsroom
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