Sawt Falasteen - Maltese businessman accused in journalist's murder granted bail

Yorgen Fenech, 43, denies involvement in the 2017 assassination of the reporter, who was blown up in a car bomb near her home on the Mediterranean island.

Fenech, the suspected mastermind of the murder, was arrested in November 2019 as he was sailing away from Malta on his yacht.

He was indicted two years later for complicity in her murder and criminal conspiracy, with prosecutors asking for life imprisonment.

Previous requests for bail for Fenech have been denied.

But according to Maltese law if a suspect is still being held 30 months after an indictment without trial, bail must be granted.

No trial date has been set.

Bail requirements include surrendering his passport and not going within 50 metres (165 feet) of an airport or the coast, according to the court order.

Caruana Galizia, a prominent blogger described as a "one-woman WikiLeaks" who exposed corruption within Malta's political and business elite, died shortly after investigating a controversial power station deal in which Fenech was a major shareholder.

Two hitmen were found guilty of setting the car bomb in 2022 and sentenced to 40 years each in prison.

A third accused hitman turned a state witness in exchange for a lighter, 15-year prison sentence.

Caruana Galizia's son Matthew attacked the government Friday for Fenech's delayed trial.

"The blame for killers being released on bail without any trial date in sight lies with the prime minister and the minister of justice," he wrote on Facebook.

"They had five years to fix the system and did nothing... it's become increasingly clear whose side they're on. The side of criminals and not regular people."

The justice ministry said prosecutors had objected to Fenech being granted bail.

"The prosecution is ready for the jury, a jury which must be appointed by the judge as happens in every case," it said in a statement.

Caruana Galizia's assassination sparked outrage around the world and put the spotlight on Malta, the European Union's smallest member state.

Then-prime minister Joseph Muscat resigned in January 2020 following mass protests over his perceived efforts to protect friends and allies from the investigation.

A 2021 public inquiry into Caruana Galizia's murder found that the state should bear responsibility for her death, by creating a "climate of impunity" for those who wanted to silence her.

A.Suleiman--SF-PST