A court ruling in Malta angered the family of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and organizations defending press freedom, after businessman Jurgen Vinik was acquitted of charges of arranging her assassination by detonating a car bomb in 2017. The case had sparked a political crisis in the country, while five people have been convicted so far on charges related to providing explosives and carrying out the assassination.

Published on: 09/03/2026 - 05:18 Last updated: 09/03/2026 - 07:17

A court in Malta on Wednesday acquitted prominent businessman Jurgen Vinik of charges of masterminding the assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed by a car bomb in 2017, in a ruling that angered her family and organizations defending press freedom.

Caruana Galizia's family considered in a statement that Vinick's acquittal constituted "a denial of the justice she deserves," while her son Matthew described the jury's decision as "horrific, from the consequences of which our country may never recover."

For its part, the European Center for Press and Media Freedom believed that the ruling sends "a worrying message to those who attack and kill journalists."

Caruana Galizia, who was nicknamed “the one-woman WikiLeaks,” revealed corruption files at the highest levels of power in Malta, and shed light on suspicious relationships between the country’s political and economic elites.

The assassination of Caruana Galizia sparked a political crisis in Malta

Her assassination led to a political crisis that ended with the resignation of then Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in January 2020, after widespread protests against what were seen as attempts to protect those close to him from investigations.

Read also: The ghost of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia prompts the resignation of the Maltese Prime Minister

In July 2021, a two-year investigation concluded that the Maltese state should “hold responsibility” for the crime due to the “climate of impunity” allowed by the government.

Finnick was arrested in 2019 on board his yacht while trying to flee Malta, after the authorities agreed to grant a mediator in the case a pardon in exchange for revealing those involved.

Reporters Without Borders expresses its "deep anger"

The prosecution accused the businessman of ordering the assassination of the journalist because she was about to publish an article that would embarrass his uncle.

Five people were convicted in connection with the assassination

So far, five people have been convicted in connection with the crime on charges related to providing explosives and carrying out the assassination.

The family said in its statement that “the institutional failures that paved the way for the crime” remain, nine years after the assassination of Caruana Galizia, without treatment or reform.

In turn, Reporters Without Borders expressed its "deep anger", considering that the ruling means that the Maltese authorities have failed, nearly nine years after the crime, to identify and convict the mastermind of the assassination.

On the other hand, the Maltese government said in a statement that it “took note of the ruling,” affirming its commitment to “ensuring that justice is achieved.”

France 24/AFP

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