By Irina Nedeva – Vice-president of AEJ and Special Representative on Media Freedom within the organization
Association of European Journalists (AEJ) joins the outrage of the international press freedom community at the acquittal of Yorgen Fenech in the trial concerning the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
On 2 September 2026, a Maltese jury found Fenech not guilty, by eight votes to one, of complicity in Daphne’s murder and of criminal association. The verdict, delivered nearly nine years after Daphne was killed in a car bomb attack, represents a devastating setback in the pursuit of full accountability for one of the most shocking assassinations of a journalist in Europe.
The verdict therefore leaves unanswered the central question of who ultimately commissioned the assassination and highlights the continuing failure to establish full accountability for the murder of a journalist.
The reaction from the international press-freedom community reflects the gravity of the situation.
“We are beyond outraged. The verdict means that almost nine years since the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the Maltese authorities have failed to identify and convict the mastermind,” said Pavol Szalai, Director of the Prague Bureau of Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Szalai added: “We stand in solidarity with the journalist’s family, which first suffered from Daphne’s loss and then painfully fought for justice only to learn that the man charged with ordering the assassination has been judged not guilty. Full justice must be served and Maltese authorities must implement the long overdue measures protecting journalists and media freedom — the absence of these measures contributed to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder, as concluded by the public inquiry into the crime five years ago.”
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has also condemned the outcome. EFJ President Maja Sever said:
“This court ruling amounts, quite simply, to denying justice not only to Daphne’s family, but also to the hundreds of thousands of journalists around the world who suffer as a result of the widespread impunity for crimes committed against their colleagues.”
Sever added: “The matter cannot end here. The Maltese justice system has a responsibility to ensure that the mastermind is sentenced to the prison term he deserves. The Maltese authorities are also responsible for the institutional failures that allowed this murder to take place.”
The International Press Institute (IPI) describs the acquittal as a “devastating setback” in the fight for justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia. IPI stressed that the verdict represents a major blow to efforts to combat impunity for crimes against journalists.
AEJ shares the outrage and concern expressed by the international press-freedom organisations. Nearly nine years after Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated, full justice remains elusive. The Maltese authorities must pursue every remaining avenue to establish responsibility for her murder and must finally implement the reforms needed to protect journalists and media freedom.
Daphne was murdered because she was a journalist doing her job — investigating corruption, exposing abuses of power and holding the powerful to account. Her assassination was therefore not only an attack on one journalist and her family. It was an attack on journalism itself, on the public’s right to know and on the rule of law.
Justice for Daphne remains unfinished.
A journalist was murdered. The search for truth and accountability must not end here.
