VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A juror who acquitted Yorgen Fenech of involvement in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia wrote “not even her children mourn her” in a WhatsApp group chat with fellow jurors, according to messages uncovered by police.

The comment was posted hours before thousands gathered in Valletta to protest Fenech’s acquittal.

The group, named The Line of Truth (Il-linja tal-verità), was created by the nine jurors two days after the September 2 verdict.

Another juror responded with a message apparently mocking murder middleman Melvin Theuma’s declarations of trust in God.

The messages, alongside the jurors’ past social media activity, are expected to support the prosecution’s arguments for a retrial.

Police discovered the WhatsApp group following the arrest of four jurors last month.

The juror who made the remark was investigated for failing to disclose negative social media posts about Caruana Galizia and the case.

In a 2013 post, she criticised police for being stationed outside the journalist’s home, claiming this allowed her to attack innocent people from the comfort of her home at taxpayers’ expense.

She also shared a 2020 post referring to Theuma and Fenech and their alleged “lies” about a sitting judge.

Another juror had shared a Facebook post in 2021 opposing compensation for Caruana Galizia’s family. The post criticised the journalist for her reporting on former prime minister Dom Mintoff and the Egrant affair, alleging that her reporting had relied on falsified documents and had harmed others. The allegations reflected the views expressed in the post, rather than an independently established finding about Caruana Galizia’s reporting.

The post followed a public inquiry that held the state responsible for the journalist’s death.

A reserve juror had also written on social media in March 2023 that he could not stand the sight of Caruana Galizia’s face.

Jurors had been instructed to declare social media posts concerning the case to identify potential bias against either Caruana Galizia or Fenech.

At the start of the trial, Judge Edwina Grima stressed that jurors must set aside pre-existing opinions and decide the case solely on the evidence presented in court.

During the 55-day trial, jurors heard graphic accounts of how Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb in October 2017.

The prosecution alleged that Fenech ordered and financed the €150,000 assassination plot, citing evidence that included secret recordings. Fenech denied involvement, while his defence blamed Keith Schembri, the former prime minister’s chief of staff.

Caruana Galizia’s sons, Matthew, Paul and Andrew, have spent nine years pursuing justice for their mother.

Matthew described to the jury the devastation he encountered when he arrived at his mother’s burning car minutes after the explosion.

Speaking at a recent protest, he warned that years of hostility towards his mother had poisoned public opinion, including that of the jurors entrusted with delivering the verdict.

A public inquiry found that the Labour Party had treated Caruana Galizia as a political adversary rather than a journalist, exposing her to a sustained campaign of hatred, personal attacks, harassment and stalking.

– Photo Ipa Agency –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews