We want a free country. A country that is not afraid, Opposition and Partit Nazzjonalista Leader Alex Borg said in his first reaction to the jury's verdict finding Yorgen Fenech not guilty of the two charges brought against him in the trial concerning the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Alex Borg said that today, the PN's first thoughts are with Peter, Matthew, Andrew and Paul, with Daphne Caruana Galizia's parents and with her entire family.

"Nearly nine years after a woman, mother, daughter and journalist was murdered, her family is still without full justice over who ordered her assassination. After years of investigations, inquiries and judicial proceedings, justice has still not reached where it needed to reach - neither for Daphne's family nor for our country," Borg said.

The PN respects the jury's verdict and the fundamental principle of the rule of law that no one may be found guilty unless the case against them is proven beyond reasonable doubt.

However, respect for the verdict does not mean remaining silent in the face of the grave questions that emerged during the trial, Borg said. The country has the right to ask how, nearly nine years after an assassination that shook an entire nation, the State failed to secure the conviction of the person accused of commissioning the murder. It has the right to know the whole truth and who will shoulder responsibility for what went wrong, the PN leader said.

Throughout the trial, the PN exercised restraint so that the jurors alone could decide the case on the evidence before them. Now that the trial has ended, the PN has a duty to speak about what the country heard.

"We heard about an investigation surrounded by serious questions: a senior official who was removed because of a conflict of interest, important electronic evidence that was not seized and suspected leaks of information which the investigators themselves asked to have investigated," he said.

These are not minor details. How much evidence was lost, and how many lines of inquiry were not pursued in time? How different might the Prosecution's position have been had we, from the very first day, had independent institutions free from conflicts of interest and political pressure?

The Public Inquiry found that a culture of impunity had been created at the highest levels of the administration and that the State was responsible for creating the environment that led to this crime. Yet, five years later, not all of its recommendations have been implemented, Borg said.

Robert Abela cannot evade responsibility by claiming that this belonged to another time. This remains the same Labour Government, operating within a system that continues to concentrate too much power in the hands of the Prime Minister. Genuine change is not measured by who occupies the seat, but by how power is exercised.

No one should use this verdict as a certificate that "the institutions worked". The jury and the Court did their duty. The political question is whether the State did its duty from the very first day. Today, there are very serious grounds for demanding accountability, Borg said.

The chapter on Daphne has not been closed. It will not be closed until her family has the whole truth, until we know whether failures or conflicts weakened the investigation, and until everyone who played a criminal role faces justice.

The PN will not accept a country in which connections, money or power give anyone an advantage over ordinary citizens, Borg said.

We want a police force that is free to investigate everyone, a judiciary free from all pressure, journalists able to work without intimidation, and institutions that are stronger than any government.

We owe Daphne's family a debt of truth, accountability and justice. No verdict can bring Daphne back, but neither can it erase the questions that have brought our country to this point.

The PN Leader continued: "We will not give up. We will continue searching for the truth, demanding accountability and working to ensure that political power can never again capture an institution that should belong to the people."

At the end of his message, Alex Borg announced a demonstration to be held outside Castille this evening. It will be a protest for all Maltese and Gozitans because this is not about party politics, but about a grave failure and injustice.

Alex Borg concluded: "We want a free country. A country that is not afraid."