The Yorgen Fenech trial is set to resume on Saturday afternoon with the testimony of Melvin Theuma.
The media was barred from live reporting on Friday and Saturday morning for security reasons, as jurors witnesses, court employees, and Yorgen Fenech visited some of the sites tied to the murder.
The ban has now been lifted.
Fenech has pleaded not guilty to two principal charges: complicity in the wilful homicide of Daphne Caruana Galizia and criminal association to commit the murder.
Caruana Galizia, a columnist with The Malta Independent, was killed in a car bomb on 16 October 2017.
Five men have already been convicted in connection with Caruana Galizia's assassination. Vince Muscat admitted his role in the murder in 2021 and was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment. Alfred and George Degiorgio each received 40-year prison sentences after pleading guilty in 2022, while Robert Agius and Jamie Vella were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2025 for supplying the bomb used in the attack.
The prosecution is being led by Attorney General lawyers Godwin Cini, Anthony Vella and Danika Vella, assisted by Assistant Commissioner Keith Arnaud and Inspector Kurt Zahra. Fenech is represented by lawyers Charles Mercieca, Giannella de Marco and Gianluca Caruana Curran, while lawyers Therese Comodini Cachia and Jason Azzopardi are appearing parte civile on behalf of the Caruana Galizia family.
Judge Edwina Grima is presiding.
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15:25 The jurors and Melvin Theuma were asked to step out of the courtroom while the legal teams engaged in a debate over a point of law. Judge Edwina Grima noted that the defence appeared to be correct, as a clause in Theuma's presidential pardon explicitly states that it covers offences he was involved in up to the date it was issued. Theuma's lawyer, Kathleen Grima, explained her legal interpretation of the text. While both Kathleen Grima and the prosecutors maintained that Theuma's pardon is restricted in scope, Yorgen Fenech's defence lawyers argued otherwise. This disagreement recalls a previous criminal case concerning Theuma's phantom government job, where Theuma refused to undergo cross-examination because he lacked legal certainty that his pardon covered that specific offense. That refusal ultimately led to the acquittal of all those charged, including Yorgen Fenech and Keith Schembri, with Fenech's legal team having argued back then that the pardon was indeed restricted and failed to cover those particular charges.
15:17 De Marco then asked whether Theuma had ever supplied drugs to Yorgen Fenech, referencing recorded conversations between Theuma and Johann Cremona where Theuma discussed Fenech's struggles with addiction, called him a "kid," mentioned rehab, and expressed anger when Fenech would disappear and become unreachable for days. Theuma denied ever giving Fenech drugs. At that point, the judge intervened to caution Theuma that his presidential pardon did not explicitly mention drug-related offences, meaning he could still face prosecution if he self-incriminated. However, defence lawyer Charles Mercieca countered that a specific clause within Theuma's pardon broadly covered all offences committed prior to the pardon's date.
15:05 Taking the witness stand, Theuma was questioned by defence lawyer Gianella De Marco regarding who knew about the murder plan, to which Theuma stated that Alfred Degiorgio ("il-Fulu") made those decisions, specifically instructing Theuma not to mention anything to Darren Debono, known as it-Topo, because he would not be involved.
15:00 Judge Edwina Grima and the jurors entered the courtroom for the resumed cross-examination of Melvin Theuma, with many jurors dressed casually in recognition of the public holiday.