Yorgen Fenech acquittal surprises majority of Maltese public

A MaltaToday survey reveals that only 16.1% of respondents expected Yorgen Fenech to be found not guilty in his trial. Following a 55-day trial, a nine-member jury returned an 8-1 not-guilty verdict on charges of complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and criminal association. Among those who provided a definitive opinion, 71.7% stated they did not expect the acquittal.

The Attorney General has since appealed the verdict. Public reaction to the case shows varying levels of engagement, with 24.9% of survey participants reporting they had not been following the case. When analyzing political affiliations, the results were largely consistent: among those expressing a definite view, 71.7% of Labour Party (PL) voters and 72.2% of Nationalist Party (PN) voters did not expect the acquittal.