Matthew Caruana Galizia calls for retrial after Fenech acquittal

Matthew Caruana Galizia has called for a retrial of Yorgen Fenech following his acquittal in the case concerning the assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

In a statement posted on Facebook after the verdict, Caruana Galizia said Fenech had "got away with murder" and called for the case to be retried.

"I expect no less than a retrial," he wrote.

Caruana Galizia also urged police and prosecutors to avoid pursuing what he described as false leads allegedly put forward by people seeking to misdirect the investigation.

"I do not want the police and prosecution to waste time investigating false leads thrown into the mix by professional liars," he said.

He argued there was already evidence identifying those responsible for the killing, pointing to Fenech's previous requests for a presidential pardon in connection with the crime.

"We know who was behind it," Caruana Galizia wrote. "We know because, three times, Yorgen Fenech asked for a pardon for this crime."

Caruana Galizia, whose mother was killed in a car bomb attack in October 2017, also criticised the state, arguing that little had changed in the decade since her assassination.

"When my mother was assassinated, Malta was a mafia state," he wrote. "One decade later, even after several chances to change, it remains one."

He concluded by calling on the government to respond to the verdict and acknowledge what he described as a continuing failure of the state to ensure accountability for the killing.

"A state set up to ensure killers are liberated has no other definition," he wrote. "Government must overcome its shock and face this fact."

MaltaToday last week exclusively revealed how the prosecution in the case will be appealing the jury verdict, challenging the verdict on grounds relating to the process itself and seeking a retrial.