Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech, one of the country's richest men, has been acquitted of charges that he masterminded the 2017 car bomb murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. A jury reached the verdict on Wednesday, clearing Fenech of both charges he faced.
Caruana Galizia, who was 53 at the time of her death, was an investigative journalist who wrote extensively about suspected corruption within Malta's political and business circles. Her killing sparked global outrage, shocked Europe, and set off a political firestorm in Malta.
The case had significant political ramifications. Fenech's 2019 arrest, which occurred as he was sailing away from Malta on his yacht, sparked a series of mass protests that eventually culminated in the resignation of Prime Minister Muscat.
The acquittal is expected to be appealed by the prosecution. The verdict is seen as a blow to the victim's family, as well as to politicians and campaigners who viewed the case as a landmark action in the fight to protect press freedom in Europe.