Acquittal in journalist murder trial stirs tensions in Malta

By Chris Scicluna

VALLETTA, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Malta's ‌government has urged calm ​after the ​acquittal of a businessman accused of commissioning the 2017 murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The 53-year-old journalist and anti-corruption activist was killed in a car bomb attack outside her home ‌in October 2017. Her murder set off a political firestorm in Malta as well ⁠as focusing international attention on its police and judiciary.

The verdict in her murder trial, delivered late on Wednesday, has angered the victim's ‌family, and drawn criticism from press freedom ‌group Reporters Without Borders, which said it was "beyond outraged" by the acquittal.

Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament and a former Maltese politician, pledged to continue the fight for justice.

"When they assassinated you, ​in broad daylight, outside your family home, we promised that we would not let them sweep it under the carpet," she wrote in a Facebook post addressed to "Dear Daphne".

"That promise holds today. We will not ⁠give up and we will not give in," she added.

Prime Minister Robert Abela, returned to power in May, did not comment directly but his government ​urged restraint in a statement issued late on Wednesday.

"At this sensitive moment, the government appeals for prudence in public comments that could do more harm than good," it ​said in a statement.

Three men have been convicted of carrying ‌out the killing and two others for supplying the bomb after earlier trials and are now serving lengthy jail sentences.

However, businessman Yorgen Fenech, heir to a property empire that ⁠includes hotels and casinos, was acquitted on Wednesday by an 8-1 jury vote on charges of complicity in murder and the lesser charge of criminal association to commit murder.

TRIAL EVIDENCE TO BE ASSESSED

Prosecutors cannot appeal the verdict, except in exceptional circumstances ⁠involving points of law.

Judge Edwina Grima, who presided over the trial, has ordered that evidence be sent to the Police Commissioner ​to determine whether third parties should face criminal proceedings.

During a trial that began in July, the prosecution had alleged that Fenech wanted Caruana Galizia dead because she was about to reveal information about him.

In his defence, Fenech accused Keith Schembri, who ‌served as chief of staff to former prime minister Joseph Muscat, of being behind the murder plot – an allegation Schembri denies.

Caruana Galizia's son Matthew expressed dismay, writing on ‌Facebook: "Terrible decision by the jurors that our country may never recover from. They had a great responsibility to deliver justice. ⁠And washed their hands of it."

The opposition Nationalist ‌Party held a "silent demonstration" outside Abela's ​office overnight, during which party leader Alex Borg called for a recall of parliament from its summer break.

(Reporting by Chris Scicluna, writing by Alvise Armellini and Keith Weir, editing by ‌Ros Russell)

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