A businessman on trial for the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has spoken about the charges in court for the first time since his arrest seven years ago. He told the jury he was set up by police and had no connection to the killing.
Over four days of questioning by both defense and prosecution lawyers, Yorgen Fenech, 44, accused the most senior adviser to Malta’s prime minister of approving the murder. Fenech’s defense team has repeatedly tried to paint Keith Schembri, Malta’s most powerful unelected official in the years before the October 2017 killing, as the mastermind behind it.
Fenech repeated these claims when he began testifying on Friday, after unexpectedly giving up his right under Maltese law to refuse to give evidence at his own trial. He said Schembri, who was chief of staff to then Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, regularly leaked sensitive information to him, including advance warnings about raids and arrests.
During a court session on Saturday, the judge asked Fenech: “Do you know who the real mastermind is?” Fenech replied: “Keith Schembri.”
Police have told the jury that Schembri was never a suspect. He was called as a witness during the trial and has denied any involvement in the murder. The prosecution’s case relies on the testimony of Melvin Theuma, a taxi driver who has confessed to being the middleman. Theuma claims Fenech gave him โฌ150,000 (ยฃ128,000) to hire the three men convicted of planting the car bomb that killed Caruana Galizia.
In his testimony, Fenech talked about his drug addiction and his close ties to senior police leaders and politicians, including WhatsApp messages he exchanged with Schembri and Muscat. He began by describing a close friendship with Schembri, saying they played football together as children and reconnected as adults. Fenech said he came to depend on Schembri, a successful businessman with interests in printing and packaging, and spoke to him almost daily.
Fenech claimed the idea of killing Caruana Galizia came up during a barbecue at his family ranch. She had written about Schembri having a brain tumor before he had told his own family about it.
“Keith was very emotional,” Fenech said. “He felt very strongly about it. We had to tell him to calm down โฆ It wasn’t the first time he spoke about it, he was almost fixated with Daphne โฆ He kept a file with all her articles.”
Fenech claimed Theuma, who also attended the barbecue, stirred Schembri up further, saying of Caruana Galizia: “She’ll reap what she sows.”
“Then I was in the kitchen and Melvin came up to me and said ‘we can easily get rid of her’,” Fenech said. “It seemed a bit over the top, so I played it down and offered him a drink. I went outside for a smoke and Melvin and Keith continued chatting.”
Fenech claimed Theuma brought up the subject again two weeks later. “Melvin was driving me to the airport. As soon as I got into the car, he told me that he had spoken to some people who said there was already an active plan to murder Daphne Caruana Galizia.”
“He said: ‘I’ve spoken to them, they’re already working on it and want โฌ120,000.’ I was shocked, I told him I’d get back to him. At first I wasn’t going to tell Keith, but it kept playing in my mind and then I decided to tell him. He said ‘go ahead, go ahead, go ahead’.”
“For Keith it was pure revenge, because he’d say she crossed a line by writing about personal matters.”
Fenech’s testimony painted a picture of a fixer who went rogue, with Theuma pushing ahead on his own. After the murder, Fenech claimed, Schembri began using him to pass messages to Theuma.One message was meant to warn the hitmen that they were about to be arrested.
“When I told Melvin, he brushed it off at first,” Fenech said. “He said it was normal for police to arrest people and then let them go without charges 48 hours later. I passed that back to Keith. He told me the police had evidence โ a bomb code and proof that phones had been used. One of the killers had topped up the bomb phone’s credit.
“I went back to Melvin and told him that, and that the arrest was set for 4 December.”
Two brothers, George and Alfred Degiorgio, and their associate Vincent Muscat were arrested on 4 December 2017. All three have been convicted of the murder, with Muscat confessing his involvement in exchange for a shorter sentence.
Fenech also claimed Schembri warned him about Theuma’s arrest in 2019.
Under questioning from the prosecution, Fenech said Schembri had shared a screenshot of a confidential Europol report โ which was helping the Maltese police โ listing potential suspects.
The prosecution has partly relied on a series of recordings Theuma made of his conversations with Fenech after the killing, in which they discussed the crime and leaks about the police investigation.
Fenech said those recordings were used to extort money from him. He claimed: “Melvin used recorded calls as blackmail โฆ Keith found out and panicked.”
He said he had given โฌ400,000 to Theuma to pass on to the Degiorgio brothers to help cover their legal costs. He claimed the stress had wrecked his family life and his relationship with his wife.
“It drove me to drug addiction,” he said. “I spent my life being against drugs, watching my brother abuse drugs. And I ended up taking drugs myself.”
He claimed investigators had helped cover up Schembri’s role. “I felt betrayed,” Fenech said. “You combined Melvin Theuma’s lie and a cover-up of Keith Schembri to frame me.”
Challenging Fenech’s account, the prosecution lawyer Godwin Cini asked: “Would I be correct in saying you were the one with the power, not Melvin Theuma?”
The judge, Edwina Grima, later asked: “Why did Melvin Theuma feel he had power?” Fenech replied: “He knows who the real mastermind is.”
The judge then asked Fenech if he knew who the real mastermind was. He replied: “Keith Schembri.” Asked how he knew, he said: “I knew because Melvin Theuma would mention it and Keith Schembri hinted at it.”
Ending his cross-examination, Cini said to Fenech: “Who are you trying to fool? Your fingerprints are all over this.”
Fenech is pleading not guilty to complicity in Caruana Galizia’s murder.
The trial continues.
Transcript and translation by Amphora Media
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about the trial and the claims of being framed written in a natural clear tone
General Background Questions
Q Who was Daphne Caruana Galizia
A She was a famous investigative journalist from Malta She was known for exposing corruption in the government and business world and she was killed by a car bomb in 2017
Q Who is on trial right now
A A man named Vince Muscat also known as ilKohhu He is one of three men arrested shortly after the murder
Q What is the basic claim of the man on trial
A He claims that he was not the mastermind of the plot and that he was framed by others He says he was just a driver and that the real planners who he claims had connections to people in power are still free
Q What are the charges against him
A He is charged with complicity in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia as well as causing the explosion that killed her
Q Has he admitted to being at the scene
A Yes he has admitted to driving the car that contained the bomb but he insists he did not know the bomb was going to be used to kill her in that specific way and that he was manipulated by others
Questions About the Framed Claim
Q Who does he say framed him
A He hasnt named a single person in court but his lawyers have suggested that the real masterminds were businessmen and politicians who had more to gain from silencing the journalist He claims he was a scapegoat
Q What evidence does he have that he was framed
A His defense is largely based on the idea that he was a smalltime criminal who was used by smarter more powerful people He argues that the prosecutions case focuses too much on him and not enough on who paid for the bomb and who ordered the hit He has pointed to inconsistencies in witness statements
Q If he was just the driver why didnt he come forward sooner
