Malta Attorney General Expected to Appeal Acquittal in High-Profile Journalist Murder Trial
Attorney General's Response to the Acquittal
By Chris Scicluna
Sept 4 (Reuters) - Malta's attorney general is set to appeal the acquittal of a top businessman over the murder of an anti-corruption journalist, seeking a retrial, the Times of Malta and other media reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources.
Details of the Acquittal
A jury acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech in an 8-1 verdict on charges of complicity to murder Daphne Caruana Galizia and criminal association. Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb metres from her home in 2017.
Implications of the Appeal
The appeal, if filed, would prolong one of Europe's most closely watched murder cases. Five men have been convicted of carrying out the killing or supplying the bomb, but the acquittal of Fenech, who prosecutors said commissioned the murder, has left no one held legally responsible for ordering it.
Attorney General's Office and Legal Procedures
The attorney general's office has not yet officially declared its intention, and it could not be contacted for comment.
The law allows 15 working days for an appeal on points of law before three judges.
Reactions from the Victim's Family
One of Caruana Galizia's sons, Matthew, said in a Facebook post that a push for a retrial “is the right thing".
"All branches of the state including the judiciary must not allow our country to be one in which people get away with murder," he added.
Legal Grounds for Appeal
The Court of Criminal Appeal may only consider an appeal from jury trials if it considers there was a "grave irregularity during the proceedings", or if the judgment was clearly the result of a "manifest misinterpretation" or “manifestly wrong application of the law” which could have had a bearing on the verdict.
The grounds upon which the appeal may be filed were not disclosed. Observers said a potential issue concerned what prosecutors were allowed to tell jurors and what they were prevented from telling them.
(Writing by Chris Scicluna; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
