On the steps of the courthouse in Valletta, there’s a bronze statue of Malta’s late president. Guido de Marco stands on a plinth, a bundle of papers in one hand, looking out at the people passing by on the busy street below.
Since Wednesday of this week, his daughter has been walking up the same courthouse steps every morning, wearing dark glasses and smart clothes, with a bundle of papers in her hand. Giannella de Marco is a well-known criminal lawyer. She’s representing the man accused of ordering the 2017 murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. This case still dominates public debate, nearly nine years after the event.
View image in fullscreen: The statue of Guido de Marco outside the courts of justice in Valletta. Photograph: Juliette Garside/The Guardian
The man she’s defending, Yorgen Fenech, is another figure from the establishment. If Malta has something like the Trump dynasty, the Fenechs are it. Their company runs several Hilton hotels and owns the Portomaso tower, the island’s second tallest building.
For Caruana Galizia’s family, a tough fight against the powerful and well-connected has been going on since the car bombing that killed her. The journalist had made enemies at the very highest levels through her investigations. In a deeply divided society, she was often attacked by government supporters.
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In a statement this week, the nonprofit group Reporters Without Borders called the Fenech trial “historic” and an “emblematic European case,” a reminder that people outside Malta are watching.
Herman Grech, editor-in-chief of the Times of Malta, says the scandal has had an impact far beyond the country. His play about the scandal, They Blew Her Up, has toured Europe and filled theatres.
“This is without a doubt the most important trial we’ve had in the 21st century,” he said. “The murder of Daphne was the biggest shock of my generation. We’ve seen other car bombs, but when it targets one of your own, it’s terrifying. It did bring down one of Malta’s most popular prime ministers.”
Caruana Galizia’s biggest stories were about members of the government of Joseph Muscat, a young politician who brought the Labour party back to power after years in opposition. In 2019, amid concerns about political interference in the police investigation, and shortly after Fenech’s arrest, Muscat resigned.
The family got a public inquiry, which lasted 18 months and concluded in July 2021 that the state had allowed “an atmosphere of impunity” to spread from the highest levels of government to regulators and the police. This led to a breakdown in the rule of law and created a “favourable climate” for the murder.
View image in fullscreen: Caruana Galizia never wrote about Yorgen Fenech but was investigating him when she was killed. Fenech’s lawyers have claimed he was framed. Photograph: Yara Nardi/Reuters
Their foundation has set up a news publisher, Amphora Media, and the family has used public attention to push for better protections for journalists, making it harder to use the law to silence reporting that is genuinely in the public interest. At the time of her assassination, Caruana Galizia was facing 43 civil and five criminal libel lawsuits. On the day she died, she was on her way to the bank to arrange payments because her accounts had been frozen as part of the legal proceedings.
In Brussels, Maltese MEPs David Casa and Roberta Metsola – now in her second term as president of the European Parliament – worked with the family to get new legislation passed. This law allows judges to dismiss the most abusive libel claims before they go to trial.
The effects have been felt as far as the UK, where Labour and Conservative politicians have called for similar measures. Two private members’ bills are being introduced, one in the House of Lords and one in the House of Commons.
Back in Malta, the trial continues.Interest in the case has been revived. But social media is full of conspiracy theories, and many people feel lost, unsure who or what to believe. Caruana Galizia never wrote about Fenech, but she was investigating him when she was killed. The police believe this was the motive for the murder.
Fenech denies any involvement, and his lawyers claim he was framed.
Years later, the case still divides public opinion, and some remain openly hostile to Caruana Galizia’s memory. “Most people are happy she was got rid of,” said Albert, a barman in Valletta. “People want to move on. For them, the case is solved, and it was solved efficiently.”
Although Muscat resigned, his party still has many supporters. Labour won a historic fourth term in a snap election held in May under Muscat’s successor, Robert Abela.
This week, Abela was forced to deny that the election date was chosen to get ahead of any fallout from the court case. Sources say the government’s biggest fear is that the trial, which has been delayed many times, will collapse on a technicality. It’s a chapter they want to close.
For now, the jury continues to hear the evidence.
“We’ve waited a long time for this trial to begin,” said the journalist’s sister, Corinne Vella. “Our family has learned to be prepared for anything, but the evidence against the accused is simply overwhelming. That gives us real hope that we’ll finally see justice for Daphne’s murder.”
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Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about the renewed attention on the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia following Maltas trial of the century
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 Who was Daphne Caruana Galizia
She was a prominent Maltese investigative journalist and anticorruption blogger She was known for exposing highlevel corruption in Malta including links between politicians and organized crime
2 What happened to her
She was assassinated by a car bomb on October 16 2017 near her home The murder shocked Malta and the world
3 What is the trial of the century referring to
It refers to the ongoing criminal proceedings against the three men who allegedly planted and detonated the bomb that killed her The case has been called that because of its massive political and legal significance for Malta
4 Why is there renewed attention on this case now
The trial has recently reached a critical stage with closing arguments and a verdict expected This has brought the details of the murder and the broader corruption scandal back into the global spotlight
Intermediate Advanced Questions
5 Who is the alleged mastermind behind the murder and have they been caught
The alleged mastermind is a prominent Maltese businessman named Yorgen Fenech He was arrested in 2019 and is currently on trial separately for complicity in the murder
6 How did the murder connect to broader corruption in Malta
Daphne Caruana Galizia was investigating a secretive company called 17 Black which was allegedly linked to Yorgen Fenech and top Maltese politicians Her reporting on this triggered the 2017 snap election and many believe led directly to her murder
7 What was the role of the middleman in the case
Melvin Theuma a selfconfessed middleman was granted a presidential pardon in exchange for testimony He revealed how he allegedly passed the murder contract from Fenech to the three bombplanters His testimony is a key pillar of the prosecutions case
8 What are the main criticisms of the police investigation
Critics say the initial investigation was slow and lacked independence There were accusations of a coverup and that the police were too close to the very political and business figures Daphne was investigating The arrest of Fenech only happened
