{"id":23881,"date":"2026-09-05T05:57:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T05:57:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/?p=23881"},"modified":"2026-09-07T06:11:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T06:11:15","slug":"malta-no-justice-for-the-killing-of-daphne-caruana-galizia-following-shock-acquittal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2026\/09\/05\/malta-no-justice-for-the-killing-of-daphne-caruana-galizia-following-shock-acquittal.html","title":{"rendered":"Malta: No justice for the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia following shock acquittal"},"content":{"rendered":"

PEN Belarus joins the\u00a0statement<\/a> of PEN International about the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia.<\/p>\n

\u2018The PEN Community expresses full solidarity with Daphne Caruana Galizia\u2019s family in their never-ending fight for justice. Those who killed Daphne sought to silence her, yet her powerful legacy lives on. We will continue to honour Daphne\u2019s memory and will not rest until full accountability for her murder and the corruption she died exposing has been achieved\u2019<\/em>, said Judyth Hill, Chair of PEN International\u2019s Women Writers Committee.<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n

04 September 2026: The Maltese authorities must urgently hold to account all those responsible for the killing of Malta\u2019s renowned investigative journalist and anti-corruption campaigner Daphne Caruana Galizia, PEN International and PEN Malta said today. The acquittal of Yorgen Fenech, who had been charged with masterminding her 2017 killing, is yet another blow to the family\u2019s years-long quest for justice and accountability.<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n

On 2 September 2026, Valetta\u2019s Criminal Court found<\/u><\/a> Yorgen Fenech, a powerful businessman and property developer, not guilty of complicity and criminal association in the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Prosecutors have limited grounds<\/u><\/a> for appeal. To date, five people have been sentenced<\/u><\/a> to lengthy prison terms in relation to Caruana Galizia\u2019s murder, however the Maltese authorities have yet to convict the mastermind. The verdict drew swift criticism from the Caruana Galizia family<\/u><\/a> and press freedom groups, in Malta and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u2018Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered for doing journalism. Every year that passes without a full, credible accounting of who ordered her killing, and without consequences for the state actors who enabled the conditions for it, is a renewed assault on her memory and on press freedom in Malta. It tells every journalist in this country what happens to those who investigate power here\u2019, <\/em>said<\/u><\/a> Kurt Borg, President of PEN Malta.<\/p>\n

Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated<\/u><\/a> on 16 October 2017 when a car bomb detonated as she drove away from her home in Bidnija. She was 53 years old. The government whose corruption she investigated repeatedly obstructed the path to justice for Caruana Galizia and her family. Dozens of civil defamation lawsuits continued against her posthumously. Human rights defenders and journalists who campaigned on the case faced serious pressure, harassment and acts of reprisal.<\/p>\n

In July 2021, a landmark public inquiry<\/u><\/a> found that Daphne Caruana Galizia\u2019s assassination was both predictable and preventable, and pointed to the responsibility of the Maltese state for her death, a collapse in the rule of law, and the failure of the authorities to take measures to protect her. Press freedom groups \u2013 including PEN International and PEN Malta \u2013 have repeatedly urged<\/u><\/a> the Maltese authorities to fully implement the recommendations of the public inquiry to ensure effective protection of journalists.<\/p>\n

PEN International, PEN Malta and PEN Centres around the world have been actively campaigning for justice following the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Notably, PEN devised a poetry memorial as a tribute to her courage and dedication to freedom of expression. The collection is available here<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Note to editors:<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n

For further details contact Aur\u00e9lia Dondo,<\/strong><\/b> Head of Europe and Central Asia Region at PEN International: Aurelia.dondo@pen-international.org<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

For media queries, please contact\u202fSabrina Tucci<\/strong><\/b>, Head of Communications and Campaigns at PEN International: sabrina.tucci@pen-international.org<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

PEN Malta\u2019s spokespeople Kurt Borg<\/strong><\/b>, President, and Karl Schembri<\/strong><\/b>, are available for interviews: penmalta@gmail.com<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PEN Belarus joins the\u00a0statement of PEN International about the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia. \u2018The PEN Community expresses full solidarity with Daphne Caruana Galizia\u2019s family in their never-ending fight for justice. Those who killed Daphne sought to silence her, yet her powerful legacy lives on. We will continue to honour Daphne\u2019s memory and will not<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":23882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4201],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solidarity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23881"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23885,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23881\/revisions\/23885"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}