Fenech defence alleges ‘cover-up and frame-up’ as testimony ends

Yorgen Fenech’s defence accused investigators of mounting a “cover-up and frame-up” as the businessman concluded his testimony in the trial over the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Defence lawyer Charles Mercieca launched the accusation during submissions to jurors, attacking the credibility of pardoned middleman Melvin Theuma and arguing that investigators failed to pursue evidence pointing towards disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri.

“The State bought a person, gave him a pardon and forgave him for everything so that he could say Yorgen Fenech was the mastermind,” Mercieca told the jury.

The lawyer argued that Theuma’s account of how Fenech allegedly commissioned the murder was riddled with inconsistencies.

He said passport evidence showed Fenech left Malta for the United States on 7 April 2017 and remained there for around a month, placing him abroad when Theuma claimed the instruction was given outside the Blue Elephant restaurant in Portomaso.

Mercieca questioned whether investigators checked passenger manifests, interviewed restaurant employees or established whether the restaurant was open at the time.

“If Fenech was abroad, who spoke to Theuma in April?” he asked.

Mercieca also questioned why Fenech would discuss a murder outside a busy restaurant when he had a private office nearby. He said Theuma’s claim that weeks passed before the matter was discussed again made little sense if the alleged motive was to prevent an imminent publication.

The defence instead sought to shift attention onto Schembri, claiming he had both the motive and opportunity to target Caruana Galizia.

Mercieca referred to articles Caruana Galizia wrote about Schembri’s illness and claimed he had vowed to silence her. He also highlighted Schembri’s meeting with former police inspector David Gatt at Castille on 16 August 2017, after which Gatt called convicted hitman George Degiorgio.

The lawyer criticised investigators, particularly the police, for failing to seize Schembri’s mobile phone and laptop, clone his phone or secure a file of Caruana Galizia’s blog posts found in his Castille office.

He also noted that one of Schembri’s final acts before resigning was to raise Theuma’s presidential pardon in Muscat’s office.

Fenech’s cross-examination ended with prosecutor Godwin Cini accusing him of lying and telling him: “Your fingerprints are all over this murder.”

Fenech denied the accusation. He acknowledged giving Theuma money after learning that the middleman might implicate him, but insisted this was intended to keep Theuma calm.

Fenech also said he had been receiving confidential information about the murder investigation since November 2017.

The court ruled that call-profile information raised by the prosecution was inadmissible and instructed jurors to disregard the related question and answer. Fenech was not re-examined, and jurors had no questions for him.

Mercieca urged jurors to put aside prejudice and decide only whether the prosecution had proved that Fenech ordered the murder.

The defence is expected to call further witnesses.