Malta: the information blackout on landmark Daphne Caruana Galizia murder trial must end
The Constitutional Court is due to review the ban on coverage of the trial of Yorgen Fenech, the alleged mastermind of the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, imposed by a decree of the Valletta Criminal Court at the end of 2024. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Court to declare this decree disproportionate and contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights, and to make this hindrance to press freedom stop.
On 17 February 2025, the Maltese Constitutional Court will examine blogger Manuel Delia's request to review the ban on covering the trial of Yorgen Fenech. This exceptionally broad measure concerns a matter of general interest: the trial of the alleged mastermind of the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
On 19 September 2024, at the request of Yorgen Fenech, the Valletta Criminal Court issued a decree banning the publication of any information relating “to the crime and the accused person,” in any form whatsoever — including public discussions and debates — except for full transcripts of the court proceedings. As it stands, any summary, analysis or contextualisation of these debates is therefore prohibited and punishable by fine. The ban is clearly disproportionate, especially given these proceedings are of public interest. The decision, therefore, infringes the freedom to inform enshrined in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as the right to a fair trial protected by Article 6. As the European Court of Human Rights points out: “The public character of proceedings [...] protects litigants against the administration of justice in secret with no public scrutiny.”
“It’s been seven years since the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia and transparency within the Maltese justice system is beyond necessary. The veil of secrecy cast over the trial of Yorgen Fenech, the presumed mastermind of this crime — released without being tried after five years in pre-trial detention — undermines the right to information. The gag order must be revised in line with European law to allow journalists to cover this landmark case. The Maltese judicial authorities must find a balance between the need for procedural safeguards that ensure a fair trial and freedom of information. We call on them to end the opacity created by this excessive restriction, which compromises the fairness of the proceedings
What’s more, the proceedings against three other suspects in the case are still dragging on, this disproportionate measure is a further obstacle to ending impunity for the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Her assassination, which took place on 16 October 2017, was the first in a string of four murders of journalists in the European Union between 2017 and 2021.
Malta is ranked 73rd out of 180 countries in the RSF 2024 World Press Freedom Index.
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