Defence lawyer Charles Mercieca on Saturday launched a sustained attack on state witness Melvin Theuma in his closing arguments in Yorgen Fenech's murder trial, questioning his credibility, his changing accounts and the circumstances surrounding the presidential pardon that granted him immunity.

Mercieca told jurors that Theuma's evidence could not be relied upon, pointing to what he described as contradictions over the alleged murder plot, missing recordings, his contacts with political figures and the timing of key events.

Mercieca is delivering his final submissions for the defence. Once this is over, Judge Edwina Grima will be giving her own address before jurors deliberate and give their verdict.

Bringing two days of intense submissions to an end Friday, prosecutor Anthony Vella maintained that the evidence firmly proved Fenech commissioned and financed the October 2017 car bomb attack.

In a striking final appeal to the jury, Vella declared that Fenech has "his hands stained with Daphne Caruana Galizia's blood."

Following the prosecution's closing remarks, the defence began its final response-marking the last opportunity for Fenech's legal team to address the jury directly before the court retires for deliberations.

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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16:58 That brings an end to the 52nd day of Yorgen Fenech's jury trial in which he faces charges for his involvement in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

It also brings an end to the defence's counter rebuttal.

Neither the defence nor the prosecution will speak again.

After a long two months, Judge Edwina Grima will address the jurors on Monday before they decide the verdict.

16:55 Defence lawyer Charles Mercieca finalises his counter-rebuttal, finishing off with the words: "I thank you," and takes his seat.

Judge Grima suspends the sitting today, and will begin addressing the jury on Monday.

16:52 "I ask you, as people who are not scared of anything-I ask you to review all the proof. This is the hardest moment in the counter-rebuttal, because when I finish and think in silence, I cannot talk to you again."

Mercieca pauses, looking at the jurors: "It is the moment that my fight for Yorgen Fenech is passed onto you. I ask you to look at everything and ask yourselves: where did the prosecution prove their case beyond reasonable doubt?"

16:51 Mercieca pauses: "In silence, put your hand on your heart - can you honestly believe Melvin Theuma?

I do not believe Melvin Theuma. With all these conflicting accounts, I can never believe him.

All of Malta knows that something here does not make sense! There is something in this case that simply did not make sense."

15:50 Mercieca delivers a rapid-fire sequence of rhetorical questions to the jury, listing the core facts he argues the prosecution wants them to ignore to return a guilty verdict:

"To find Yorgen Fenech guilty, you need to throw away everything and forget everything.

How can I forget that when the Degiorgios were arrested, Keith Schembri and David Gatt told them: 'Keep your heads held high?'

How can I forget that Keith Schembri explicitly told Yorgen Fenech to keep Melvin Theuma away from him?

How can I forget that Melvin Theuma keeps talking about betrayal? How was Yorgen going to betray him? The betrayal was towards Keith Schembri - when Theuma saw the possibility of a pardon for Vince Muscat, panic set in!

How can I forget, dear jurors, that it was right after Vince Muscat could be handed a pardon that Theuma started his plan to record?

How can I forget that at that same time, Edgar Brincat told Melvin to write that letter to implicate Yorgen Fenech?

How can I forget that when Europol wanted to arrest Theuma, the Police Commissioner said not to?

Mercieca pauses before telling the jury box: "You cannot throw these facts away."

16:41 Mercieca turns his sights back onto former OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, taking aim at his testimony before the court: "Keith Schembri came right here into this hall - a prime liar!"

Mercieca urges the jury not to allow the prosecution to blind them to the political machinations that derailed the initial murder inquiry: "How can I forget that they want to cover your eyes?

16:36 Closing in on his final arguments, defence lawyer Charles Mercieca delivers a personal plea directly to the jurors, urging them to rely strictly on their individual judgment: "When you see all the facts you heard, I want you to remember that your vote is yours individually.

Across these 60 days we spent together, it is important that the vote is yours personally-that you vote according to what you feel is correct, what you feel is just, according to the truth brought out before you."

Mercieca continues to state that: "Everyone felt this jury, everyone asks why did you not conduct certain investigations, why were these things not done."

The lawyer asks the jurors: "Did they tell us why, four hours after Fenech was arrested, Keith Arnaud called Kevin Pulis and told him: 'Ask him if he needs a doctor so he speaks to Adrian Vella?'"

The statement draws immediate comments from the prosecution bench, stating that the assertion was "not true."

Mercieca turns toward the bench and maintains: "If I can conclude in serenity and not in mumbling, please."

16:34 Judge Grima and jurors enter the courtroom.

15:55 As Mercieca highlights the German response regarding the deletion request, members of the Caruana Galizia family sitting below become visibly agitated and can be heard audibly commenting and reacting against the defence's remarks.

Judge Edwina Grima repeatedly pounds her gavel.

Court breaks until 4:15pm.

15:54 Mercieca turns to official international judicial assistance requests sent to German law enforcement regarding Daphne Caruana Galizia's missing laptop and storage disks.

Reading directly from a letter written by Daphne Caruana Galizia's family, Mercieca reads: "We sincerely believed that this assistance-a letter sent directly by senior Maltese prosecution to the Senior Prosecutor in Germany-would be a major breakthrough for the inquiry to have the laptop brought to Malta from Germany!' But do you know what the German prosecutors replied?"

Mercieca pauses, holding up the official correspondence before the jury box: "The German prosecutors replied that the Caruana Galizia family had explicitly asked for the data saved on the deceased's laptop and hard disks to be deleted!"

15:43 Mercieca then turns his attention to the prosecution's financial motive argument, scoffing at the claim that the Electrogas power station project drove the plot: "There is the alleged Electrogas motive - that Yorgen Fenech's wanted to kill Daphne because of money. Now sincerely, jurors, you cannot seriously accept that the CEO of Tumas Group wanted to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia over money?"

Mercieca contrasts Fenech's corporate position with Schembri's intense hatred directed at the journalist: "The motive was not adverse media coverage on a commercial company. The real motive stems directly from what was being written. Keith Schembri harboured deep, bitter hatred whenever Daphne wrote like that about him."

15:34 Mercieca: "In two whole years of recordings, there is not even a single recording where Melvin Theuma tells Yorgen Fenech: 'You were the one who sent for me at the Blue Elephant!' or 'Why did you send us to George Degiorgio?' Not once."

Mercieca contrasts this silence with how Theuma acted when speaking to third parties: "In Johann Cremona's recordings, Fenech was mentioned a lot, Theuma mentioned his name to everyone else - except to Yorgen himself!

If Melvin Theuma was really that fed up for acting between the Degiorgios and Yorgen, why didn't he tell them: 'Go and talk to him yourselves!'

When asked in court why he didn't, do you know what he said? He claimed he 'respected' Yorgen Fenech too much."

15:19 Judge Edwina Grima stops the lawyer to address a point of legal terminology raised during a point Mercieca mentions, in which he stated the prosecution sent the Maksar brothers to prison.

The judge warns the defence: "Be careful when you speak, the Attorney General does not send anyone to prison!"

"That is merely a figure of speech," Mercieca replies.

Mercieca turns to the prosecution's cross-examination of Yorgen Fenech regarding the pivotal dinner gathering held at Fenech's Żebbuġ ranch.

"Did they tell you why they are trying to deviate from the dinner at the ranch? The prosecution cross-examined him, claiming he never mentioned Keith was invited to that dinner.

But let us read directly from Yorgen Fenech's own testimony: 'Keith Schembri had a medical problem and we had just returned from America, and we went to eat at the ranch in Żebbuġ.'

Hence, his presence is completely implied. And Keith Schembri himself admitted under oath that he met Melvin Theuma at that very ranch dinner. Even Melvin Theuma confirms this."

Mercieca stops and raises his voice towards the jurors: "There has been an entire force at work throughout this case to eliminate Keith Schembri from the picture!"

15:11 Mercieca turns to the media leaks and alternative narratives that emerged in the immediate aftermath of Daphne Caruana Galizia's assassination in October 2017.

Mercieca points the jury toward Keith Schembri's own testimony regarding his interactions with Saviour Balzan: "Keith Schembri told us himself that he had a story that he passed on to Saviour Balzan of MaltaToday! So, Saviour Balzan was fed a story about a motive for why Daphne was killed - a motive that, by pure coincidence, was sitting right there on Schembri's desk in Castille."

Mercieca explains how the narrative was planted to steer public perception away from Castille: "He fed Balzan the story so that MaltaToday would publish that Daphne was killed over fuel smuggling! So, you - who supposedly have nothing to do with this murder - are sitting in Castille feeding journalists stories about who killed her?"

15:08 Mercieca brings up the alleged involvement of Chris Cardona: "Did they tell you why, right after Melvin Theuma went down to the Marsa potato shed, Vince Muscat drove Alfred Degiorgio to meet Chris Cardona?

George Degiorgio himself stated that after Theuma showed up, they immediately went to Cardona to confirm who had actually sent Theuma.

Vince Muscat confirmed under oath that he drove George Degiorgio to meet Cardona for that very meeting".

15:07  Mercieca continues his assault on state witness Melvin Theuma's credibility, reminding jurors of instances where Theuma was caught lying under oath during court proceedings.

"Melvin Theuma lied when Dr Giannella De Marco asked him directly about the drugs he sold to Yorgen Fenech!"

Mercieca now turns to the recorded police interrogations of state witness Vince Muscat (il-Koħħu), questioning why police felt compelled to re-interrogate Muscat multiple times while taking Theuma's story at face value.

The defence reads directly from the official interrogation transcripts between Superintendent Keith Arnaud and Vince Muscat: "Did they tell you why, the first time they asked Vince Muscat, they felt the need to investigate and interrogate him over and over again?

Listen to how Arnaud questioned him about whether Daphne would have still been killed.

Arnaud said: 'So if Melvin hadn't come along, nothing would have happened?'

Muscat replied: 'Yes, that's what I'm saying, I think... I don't know. I don't even know what to tell you anymore.'"

14:59 Mercieca tackles the prosecution's interpretation of the phantom job given to Melvin Theuma, shifting accountability directly back to Keith Schembri.

"Why did Keith Schembri provide a job to Melvin Theuma? Keith Schembri gave a government job to Melvin Theuma so that he does nothing."

Mercieca argues that this arrangement was orchestrated entirely from within Castille to keep Theuma appeased.

The defence refutes the prosecution's assertion that statements made by Yorgen Fenech during investigations amounted to an admission of guilt.

"Because the prosecution was quick to state that there was an admission-it is not an admission. Yorgen Fenech from the very beginning has maintained that he never ordered, never paid for, and never wanted this homicide."

Mercieca pauses before delivering a scathing assessment of the prosecution's primary witness: "What you have been presented with by Melvin Theuma is nothing short of a mountain of lies."

14:58 Mercieca turns his attention to the execution of search warrants at the home of former OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri.

CM: "Every police officer who came here told us they collected everything from Keith Schembri's house. That is what they were telling us. But here we see how the truth gets warped.

We saw that in the investigation, Keith Arnaud stared right at the table where the mobile phone was sitting, and Arnaud replied: 'I am not seeing anything.' That is the extent to which their eyes were covered."

Mercieca continues to state that he is not going into corruption or incompetence, but will take note of is what constitutes a just investigation-and this was not one.

14:47  Mercieca resumes his address after the break: "We are closing in now. I ask you to stay with me a bit longer, to continue staying attentive, so that with all my will I can transmit what I must.

The scope of the defence's final submissions - the counter-rebuttal - is for the defence to answer that which we are required to answer to the prosecution, built upon our initial opening statement."

Mercieca warns jurors about the vacuum left by the state's failure to answer critical defence questions, whereby he states that: "Not a single clear response has been given to the core questions we raised. Doubt and unanswered questions are the greatest enemy to legal certainty-and it is the prosecution's absolute obligation to provide you with certainty".

Mercieca now quotes the Police Act, which reads: "There shall be a police force whose main objectives are to preserve public order and peace, and to apply the law without discrimination on any ground, such as race, colour, language, political opinion, or background."

14:36 Proceedings resume as Judge Edwina Grima enters the courtroom, followed by the jurors.

The defence is expected to continue its closing submissions.

12:38 Court is adjourned for a lunch-break until 2:30pm.

12:36 "I am not saying that Melvin Theuma never went to Busy Bee! But who sent Theuma to Busy Bee? Who was he actually representing when he went there?"

Mercieca argues that the prosecution spent weeks swamping the court with irrelevant background details: "We spent weeks hearing about what happened, where he went in Bidnija, or where he went to Busy Bee.

But collaboration is not proven by showing where he walked or where he drank coffee!

The prosecution's duty was to prove the nexus between Melvin Theuma and Yorgen Fenech - the actual criminal link across the chain of events in 2017."

12:34 Mercieca points directly to the systemic effort to protect political power players throughout the police investigation: "All roads and bridges leading to Keith Schembri were burnt!

Look at everything-see what there is in favour and what there is against. Weigh all the evidence for yourselves, and do not let the prosecution lead you on."

12:33 "Inquiries do not go forward like this - where chats are deleted, mobile phones go missing, and you find a computer mouse sitting on a desk with no laptop in sight."

"If you deliver a guilty verdict, these things will simply continue. Don't be afraid-an investigation won't spend another 10 years. This is the last nail [the prosecution] wanted to hammer."

12:22 Mercieca connects secret intelligence briefings directly to the conspiracy, pointing to Malta Secret Service (MSS) surveillance on key hitmen: "The Secret Service was already on the Degiorgios before they even commissioned the homicide!

And Keith Schembri - who was sitting in those high-level security meetings - knew they were tapping them. They knew who commissioned these crimes, and then who was he going to find to get Daphne killed?"

Whenever it suits him, he says: 'I only mentioned Keith Schembri because he's a madman.'

Whenever it suits him, he says: 'I said Keith Schembri was the mastermind just to frighten him.'

Whenever it suits him, he says that Yorgen Fenech ta' Tumas is the true mastermind.

Whenever it suits him, he says he deleted the recordings.

And whenever it suits him, he says the recordings of Johann Cremona are on a mobile phone he threw away."

12:16 The defence continues to press on the chronological flaws surrounding Melvin Theuma's phantom OPM government job, exposing what the defence claims is definitive proof of Keith Schembri's sole involvement.

"Melvin Theuma already knew he had a government job on the 28th of February 2017! If you already knew you had the job on the 28th, what was that important meeting really about? It was with Keith Schembri! Coincidentally, the very same person who is being displayed throughout these recordings as the true mastermind."

Turning to the state's presidential pardon deal with Theuma, Mercieca questions why Theuma sought total immunity if he was merely an innocent conduit: "If the instrument of a pardon - which pardons absolutely everything - isn't a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card, then what is it? The prosecution never answered why he needed such a pardon.

You know what I say? Melvin Theuma is the person who engineered this whole problem, and he did it because he knew all along he was going to receive a pardon!"

12:08 Mercieca: "If the prosecution wants to prove a fact, and through my arguments I highlight a reasonable doubt regarding that fact, I carry no burden of responsibility over it. If the prosecutor presents an argument as proof, such as, the bomb was already in Malta in January, I have every right to argue that Theuma's account of events in April is a total lie-and I don't need to prove that lie."

Mercieca then contrasts unsupported prosecution allegations with hard documentary evidence, pointing directly to Yorgen Fenech's travel records: "For example, saying Yorgen Fenech was in America in April - if it were just a statement, that would be an allegation. But when it is stamped in black and white inside his passport, that is absolute proof!"

The lawyer expresses disbelief at how the state handled this alibi during proceedings: "Do you know that across an entire cross-examination, not a single question was asked about May and April 2017?

Theuma is lying to such an extent that I brought you physical proof showing Fenech wasn't even in the country! So do not accuse him of commissioning a homicide when he was not even here for it!"

12:01 Mercieca responds directly to the prosecution's final submissions, taking aim at claims that Yorgen Fenech attempted to use his financial influence to compromise the murder investigation.

Addressing the jury, Mercieca directly refutes the state's narrative: "My fellow colleague in his submission claimed that Yorgen Fenech could buy justice.

But the only individual in this room who actually tried to buy off the commissioner - who handed things over to Tonna, was Melvin Theuma!"

11:56 Mercieca now highlights Theuma's inconsistent claim that both men wanted him eliminated: "He writes that Yorgen and Keith were working together to get rid of him. A lie! Somewhere in here, he is lying."

Mercieca then brings up the mysterious memory stick passed between key figures: "That pen drive that Yorgen gave to Schembri - what was inside it? Why haven't they told you?"

Pointing to a key grammatical distinction in the Maltese text regarding Theuma's phantom OPM government job, Mercieca tells jurors that the middleman unwittingly revealed who the real mastermind was: "While this letter is written in the plural, when he comes to speak about the job, he uses the singular phrase 'after Keith got what he needed' not 'after they got what they needed.'

Therefore, Keith Schembri is the mastermind - Schembri was the one who got what he wanted!"

11:44 Mercieca reads Theuma's own words written directly to Yorgen Fenech dated 7 October 2018: "I respect you as much as you respect me, Yorgen. KK [Keith Schembri] is completely insane. Even though he tried to get rid of me, if it weren't for you, I would be inside."

Mercieca stops and addresses the court directly: "We did not hear about this letter from the prosecution! Melvin later changes his story entirely and claims that Yorgen wanted to kill him!"

11:43 Mercieca takes aim at the vast wealth and assets state witness Melvin Theuma was permitted to retain under his presidential pardon deal.

Mercieca lists Theuma's extensive holdings before the jury: "Did they tell you why the police let Melvin Theuma keep properties in Marsaskala, Qormi, Swieqi, and Birkirkara?

11:40 Shifting focus back to the question of motive, Mercieca turns to the published writings of Daphne Caruana Galizia, detailing her posts on former OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri.

Mercieca reads directly from one of Caruana Galizia's blog posts concerning Schembri's sickness: "Keith Schembri is the Prime Minister's aide, on whom he relies heavily. He won't be around for the next one" (referring to the electoral term)."

Mercieca emphasises the intensity and personal impact of those words: "That is the rage of vendetta. It shows you how, more likely than not, these types of comments provoke deep anger and hatred."

11:35 Mercieca addresses Theuma's sudden lapses in memory on the witness stand:  "Seven years recounting the whole story! Commissioning a homicide is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience for a person-and now, in front of the jury, you claim you have a bad memory?"

Mercieca lists critical leads that law enforcement systematically ignored.

"Did they tell you why Mario Tonna got rid of his mobile phone? No!" Mercieca asks the courtroom, referring to the former Deputy Police Commissioner.

11:29 Mercieca turns his attention to former Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar in relation to secret leaks provided to Melvin Theuma.

Mercieca asks why the prosecution conveniently avoided discussing Cutajar during their closing address: "Did the prosecution mention Lawrence Cutajar regarding the leaks of the recordings and the leaks of the upcoming raids? It meant that Keith Schembri was genuinely terrified!"

Mercieca maps out the connection between the leaks and the political manoeuvres inside Castille: "So it is true that they spoke about the pardon-how many months earlier were they already planning to give him a presidential pardon covering both crimes?"

11:28 Mercieca addresses Fenech's comments in a recorded tape about Caruana Galizia: "If I committed this homicide, and I am the mastermind, am I going to say I would throw her from a balcony to her death? Not even that is consistent with a mastermind's behaviour!"

11:22 Mercieca presses the jury to reject the prosecution's portrait of Melvin Theuma as an anxious, uncalculating middleman who simply reacted out of fear.

Referencing Theuma's testimony regarding conversations about offshore company 17 Black, Mercieca asks: "Then Theuma told us they were talking about 17 Black and journalists, and so on. Is this irrational behaviour, or the behaviour of an individual who knows exactly what he is doing?"

Mercieca points out that the prosecution has remained entirely silent on the tapes Theuma intentionally disregarded.

Reading from Theuma's interrogation: 'Why did you record Johann Cremona?', Keith Arnaud asks. 'Because Johann was the messenger between me and Yorgen!', Theuma responds.

CM: "He thought the investigators didn't have those recordings, so he felt safe to say whatever he wanted!"

"As a matter of fact, when Melvin Theuma thought those recordings did not exist, that is how he answered. That is how the entire picture was constructed to revolve around 'Yorgen Fenech ta' Tumas.'"

11:18 Mercieca takes note on the selective nature of the secret audio recordings handed over to the police by state witness Melvin Theuma. He asks jurors to consider why a man who claimed to record every conversation surrounding the plot ended up not having such recordings.

"This man has tapes that he threw away. These tapes, which are so vital to Theuma, were supposed to be his salvation. Yet he only brought what he wanted to bring!"

11:08 Mercieca zeroes in on a fundamental contradiction surrounding the audio tapes produced by state witness Melvin Theuma.

Addressing the jury, Mercieca lays out two clear deductions based on the middleman's own claims: "We know two things from Theuma's recordings: they contain his statements, and he consistently maintained that he recorded Keith Schembri and everyone else. If Melvin Theuma is a liar, you know what to do with his evidence. However, if this is true, I ask you: where are these recordings?"

Mercieca argues that if Theuma was telling the truth about recording Schembri, the absence of those specific tapes points to missing or suppressed evidence that the prosecution cannot explain.

The lawyer then takes aim at Theuma's claim during cross-examination regarding his sudden commitment to honesty.

"Melvin Theuma testified that when he found out he wanted to tell the truth, he said: 'In front of Neville, I learned that I have to tell the truth.' Okay, he learnt it late, but at least he learnt it!"

Mercieca reads directly from the official transcript of lead investigator Keith Arnaud questioning Melvin Theuma, whereby Theuma states that he didn't have enough time to put such recordings on a pendrive.

11:06 Shifting to official police evidence, Mercieca turns to the analysis of electronic data conducted by Police Constable Jurgen Muscat during the investigation.

"Did they tell us why Jurgen Muscat concluded: 'It seems Melvin and Johann continuously rubbish Yorgen Fenech as an addict and a weak link in the case, while both continuously refer to Kenneth as their key to freedom. These conversations differ drastically from Johann Cremona's testimony. Cremona seems to be the main source of possible leaks deriving from the FIAU, the police, and the Secret Service as per recordings assessed?'"

10:52 Proceedings resume as Judge Edwina Grima and the jurors return to the courtroom, with the defence expected to resume their closing submissions shortly. 

10:33 The defence asks for a quick break.

Proceedings will continue at 10:45am.

10:32 The defence's assertion regarding the timing of the €30,000 deposit draws an immediate, vocal objection from the prosecution bench.

The prosecution interjects, addressing the bench directly: "Madam, this is not true!

Mercieca holds his ground as arguments flare across the courtroom floor.

Presiding Judge Edwina Grima steps in: "That is up to the jurors to decide," Madam Justice Grima decrees, instructing the defence to continue its final submissions while leaving the evaluation of conflicting witness testimonies to the jury.

10:24 Turning to the testimony of associate Johann Cremona, defence lawyer Charles Mercieca challenges the prosecution's narrative regarding Cremona's role in managing middleman Melvin Theuma.

"Was Johann Cremona's job simply to meet with Melvin Theuma?" Mercieca asks the jury.

He presses jurors on Cremona's underlying loyalties and political ties: "Did they tell you why Cremona, to calm down Melvin, had to talk to him against Fenech and in favour of Keith? Everyone knows that Cremona is one of Schembri's security guards!"

Mercieca then zeroes in on the financial paper trail surrounding the hitmen, raising questions about a €30,000 payment made to hitman Vince Muscat (il-Koħħu): "Did they tell you why they were shocked that the €30,000 to Vince Muscat came before the election? Melvin Theuma insisted on paying €30,000 before the election. Did they tell you why, by coincidence, even Johann states that Melvin Theuma paid the €30,000 out of his own pocket?"

10:20 Mercieca turns to the prosecution's core theory regarding motive, dismissing claims that the Electrogas power station project served as the primary trigger for the assassination.

"Electrogas was mentioned over and over. And the leak-they only found out about it two months after the homicide. The leak of the emails then came out in March 2018."

Mercieca then zeroes in on a key missing witness, challenging prosecutors over their decision not to call former lawyer David Gatt to take the stand: "Why did David Gatt not testify?"

Mercieca asks jurors why the prosecution brought up Gatt's name and alleged involvement throughout the proceedings, yet failed to put him on the witness stand under oath to answer questions before the jury.

10:17 "Alfred and George Degiorgio were certainly not bought off!" Mercieca tells the jury.

Mercieca stresses that: "A presidential pardon requires you to tell the whole truth. You cannot lie about a single piece."

10:11 Mercieca turns to allegations surrounding lawyer David Gatt.

"Did they tell you why David Gatt had to undress in Castille to show Keith Schembri he has no recorder?"

"The timeline aligns exactly with Keith Schembri's fingerprints," Mercieca tells the jury.

He breaks down the timeline leading up to the murder: "At that time, Schembri knew an election was coming, so they stopped. But then August came - and with who did Schembri talk to?"

Mercieca focuses on 21 August 2017, arguing that key meetings and decisions occurred on that date to reactivate the plot after the June general election: "The timeline aligns exactly with Keith Schembri's fingerprints."

"Keith Schembri is the mastermind," he says.

10:07 Mercieca turns to the credibility of state-witness Melvin Theuma, questioning why a man granted immunity from prosecution would still withhold the truth.

"There is no problem for Theuma to state the truth, so why is he lying?" Mercieca asks the jury.

"Who is he lying for? And why is he protecting those who are lying?"

Mercieca references past statements made by former OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri regarding the middleman to reinforce his argument to jurors: "I told you, Keith Schembri, in a spontaneous moment, told us Melvin Theuma is the biggest liar in Malta. Of course he's going to say that - because Keith Schembri knows the truth!"

Mercieca repeats once again: "I want to know what was agreed upon in Castille!"

10:00 Mercieca turns up the heat on prosecutors, accusing them of spending seven years failing to pursue obvious leads while ignoring key physical and digital evidence.

"We've been here for 60 days, exhausted!" Mercieca tells the jury. "They had seven years to do a true investigation."

Mercieca lists the crucial pieces of evidence that were either lost, unexamined, or swept aside:

Keith Schembri's mobile phone (which vanished hours before his arrest);

Kenneth Camilleri's mobile phone;

WhatsApp chats between Keith Schembri and lead murder investigator Keith Arnaud;

Daphne Caruana Galizia's laptop handed over in Germany;

"How can you justify that the whole situation regards Electrogas?" 

09:53 Shifting focus back to state witness Melvin Theuma, Mercieca asks jurors why the middleman repeatedly misled investigators about his visits to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) at Castille.

"Did they tell you how many times Theuma lied about going to Castille?" Mercieca asks. "Let's say he's mixing up the dates, it's been seven years after, how are you lying about the amount of times you went to Castille?"

Mercieca highlights a key meeting between Theuma and former OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri:

"When he met with Keith Schembri, he spent two and a half hours there... What happened in those two and a half hours?"

09:51 Mercieca turns to the physical evidence collected by US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents called in to assist local police following the October 2017 car bombing.

"Did the prosecution tell you why the FBI experts came to Malta?" Mercieca asks jurors. "And thank God they came."

He challenges the prosecution bench to address a core timeline contradiction: "Did they tell you why the bomb came to Malta before the murder was allegedly commissioned?"

Mercieca argues that forensic evidence places the explosive device inside Malta prior to the period when middleman Melvin Theuma claims he was instructed by Fenech to procure a hit.

Turning towards the prosecution, Mercieca tells the jury: "If he could answer, he would. But if he could, he would not answer-because it contradicts their entire story."

09:46 The aggressive line of argument draws a visible reaction from the prosecution bench, where prosecutors chuckled in response to the defence's assertions.

Mercieca immediately turns to address the prosecution's reaction: "I understand that my words hurt to hear. When you hit a person where it hurts, the person will act."

Mercieca then turns to the court and asks: "Do they need a break?"

Presiding Judge Edwina Grima immediately steps in: "I don't want comments, continue Dr.  Mercieca".

9:42 Mercieca turned his sights directly on the prosecution and the police investigation, questioning the necessity and scope of the immunity granted to the middleman in November 2019.

"Why did he need a pardon?" Mercieca asks the jury. "You were scared the recordings would disappear? You had the recordings in hand for nine months, so why did he need a pardon?"

The defence lawyer charges that state authorities had assisted Theuma at every turn, granting him blanket immunity not only for his role in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, but also for widespread financial crimes.

"Why did you favour him in everything? Why was he given a pardon on money laundering and other crimes? This is not a pardon-this is a favour."

He further points to past high-profile armed robberies and major heists-including the HSBC bank robbery and the Casino di Venezia raid, blanketed by Theuma's pardon.

"A pardon is not given because you did not do anything," Mercieca tells the courtroom.

9:41 Mercieca endorses the reason why the accused would leave Malta, maintaining that Fenech had been caught between Keith Schembri on one side and Melvin Theuma.

"I have Keith Schembri on one side and Melvin Theuma in the police commissioner's pocket. Of course I would leave," the defence argues.

9:40 Mercieca questioned why authorities waited until November to arrest middleman Melvin Theuma when Europol had pushed for his arrest nine months earlier in January, asking the jury if it truly took investigators that long to uncover Theuma's money laundering empire. Pushing further on the integrity of the state's case, Mercieca asked why a pardon was ever necessary or promised if the prosecution already possessed Theuma's secret audio recordings and claimed to be completely certain of the evidence, highlighting the fact that Theuma was handed a completely clean slate that pardoned him not only for the murder plot, but also for separate crimes. 

9:35 The defence also questions why there had been no confrontation between the prosecution's "star witness", Melvin Theuma, and Yorgen Fenech.

"Did they tell you why they didn't arrange a confrontation between their star witness and Yorgen Fenech?" it asked.

The defence raises questions over why Theuma had a photograph of Keith Schembri in his ice-cream box.

The defence refers to the period between the 14 and 19 November, while Schembri disappeared from the picture on the 19.

"If a picture of Schembri was left in the box, I would logically expect there to be a story behind that picture," the defence argues.

9:32 Mercieca acknowledged that Yorgen Fenech had personal struggles, including a drug problem, but stressed that none of those failings make him a murderer because he is not on trial for drugs or political relationships.

Responding to the prosecution's critique that the defence failed to request a direct confrontation between Fenech and middleman Melvin Theuma, Mercieca countered that Fenech actually sought a confrontation back in 2019 and argued that seven years later, everything that needed to be said has already been said.

Mercieca then turned the focus to Theuma's political connections, noting that upon his arrest, Theuma immediately sought representation from prominent Nationalist Party politicians like David Casa, Simon Busuttil, and Beppe Fenech Adami - none of whom are criminal defence lawyers. Highlighting that these figures were political foes of the governing administration rather than Fenech, Mercieca told the jury this offered a telling window into Theuma's true state of mind when he was first arrested in 2019.

9:26 Mercieca reminded jurors that the legal burden of proof rests entirely on the prosecution, emphasising that the state possesses all the investigative tools necessary to build a case while the defence has no obligation to bring evidence. Challenging the prosecution's timeline of when the murder was commissioned, Mercieca pointed to passport stamps showing Yorgen Fenech was out of the country in the US on April 6, 2017, and in Dubai in early May, arguing there is no proof Fenech was in Malta during that window, whereas evidence clearly places middleman Melvin Theuma meeting with former OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri at Castille instead. 

9:20 Defence lawyer Charles Mercieca resumed his address to the jurors, immediately circling back to the contentious issue of middleman Melvin Theuma's presidential pardon that sparked Friday's legal spat with the prosecution.

Reiterating his point to the jury, Mercieca challenged the timeline of the investigation by asking why authorities promised Theuma a pardon before they had even arrested Yorgen Fenech.

The lawyer continues to state that basic logic dictates that authorities should first hear what a suspect has to say, listen to both sides, and only then make a decision.

Mercieca likens this to a standard workplace dispute where management must hear out both colleagues before acting.

9:13 Judge Edwina Grima opened today's court session by issuing a decree to resolve a legal dispute that consumed the final 30 minutes of Friday's hearing regarding the circumstances of middleman Melvin Theuma's presidential pardon.

While prosecutors argued against the defence's attempt to tell jurors that Theuma had been promised a pardon prior to Yorgen Fenech's arrest, the judge ruled that the defence is permitted to reference the fact that Theuma was offered a pardon, provided they clarify it was granted "subject to certain conditions" rather than handed out unconditionally.