Malta's government calls for calm after acquittal in Caruana Galizia murder trial

The Maltese government has called for calm following the acquittal of a businessman accused of ordering the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017.

The verdict, handed down late Wednesday, sparked outrage from the slain journalist's family, as well as criticism from Reporters Without Borders, which said it was "beyond outraged" by the acquittal.

Prime Minister Robert Abela, who returned to power in May, did not directly comment on the ruling, but his government called for restraint in a statement released late on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

"At this sensitive time, the government urges caution in public comments that could cause more harm than good," the statement said, adding that the government "took note" of the trial's outcome.

Caruana Galizia was killed at the age of 53 in a car bomb explosion outside her home in October 2017. Her murder caused a political storm in Malta and focused international attention on the country's police and judiciary.

Three men were convicted of murder, and two more of supplying a bomb, after earlier trials, and are now serving long prison sentences.

However, businessman Jorgen Fenech, heir to a real estate empire that includes hotels and casinos, was acquitted by a jury of eight to one on Wednesday on charges of complicity in murder and a lesser charge of criminal conspiracy to commit murder.

Prosecutors cannot appeal the verdict, except in exceptional circumstances relating to legal issues, Reuters writes.

During the trial, which lasted just under two months, the prosecution claimed that Fenech wanted Caruana Galizia dead because she was about to publish information about him.

Opposition protest

Caruana Galizia's son, Matthew, expressed outrage, writing on Facebook: "A terrible decision by a jury from which our country may never recover. They had a great responsibility to serve justice. And they washed their hands of it."

The opposition Nationalist Party held a "silent protest" outside Abel's office overnight, during which party leader Alex Borg called for parliament's summer recess to be interrupted to discuss the outcome of the trial.

"We now know that the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia was planned from that building," Borg said, pointing to the prime minister's office.

Fenech denied the allegations against him, while his defense pointed the finger at his once close friend Keith Schembri, former chief of staff to then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and one of the targets of Caruana Galizia's texts.

Muscat, who was never linked to the murder, resigned in January 2020 due to the political fallout from the assassination. Police told the court that Schembri was never a suspect, and he denied any role in the murder.