Malta: Public Inquiry Into Assassination Of Daphne Caruana Galizia Cancelled, The Hearing On Compilation Of Evidence Held With One Of The Key Middlemen Being Found Dead

Location: Malta, Valletta
Date: July 23, 2020

More than 1000 days after prominent journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination which can be recorded as the vilest attack on freedom of the press within the European Union, there has been a new twist in the trial of the men accused of murder.

Key witness and self-confessed middlemen in the case, Melvin Theuma was found dead in his home just hours before the hearing commenced. 

Melvin Theuma, upon his plea to become a witness, was granted a presidential pardon and around-the-clock guard for evidence about the car bomb murder which led to the arrest of the top Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech.

Theuma was found in his apartment with a slit throat late in the evening of 21 July. He remains hospitalized with serious injuries. Police immediately claimed that Theuma’s injuries clued to suicide, although medical experts say suicidal attempts through self-stabbing are highly unusual.

Police forces however explained that although the murder middleman was unable to speak, there were no signs of a struggle in Theuma's apartment and none of the other residents in the apartment block had heard a commotion. The windows were locked, and the officers standing guard at the entrance to the building had not logged any movements according to Times of Malta which spoke to around 14 neighbors. The middleman was prepping for today’s court session together with his lawyer until 6 pm, sources told Times of Malta.  

During the court proceedings, Yorgen Fenech’s defense lawyers first demanded that Theuma’s mobile be presented to court claiming that Melvin Theuma panicked when he realized a recording evidencing Fenech’s involvement in the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia had been recovered. The proceedings then followed with technical details.

Times Malta detailed the technical conversation with IT expert Alvin Cardona who testified that:

- There are 8 voice recordings on previously inaccessible folders 

- The hard drive in question did not come with instructions on how to access the folders 

- He believes a software issue was to blame for the recordings being inaccessible 

- He never checked the files and only copied the folders he was instructed to 

- He met inspector Keith Arnaud once, for the inspector to check recordings

Director of International Campaigns for Reporters Sans Frontiers, Rebecca Vincent who has been following the case diligently said the atmosphere in the courtroom was heavy with camera recordings not being allowed.

The atmospherics are very telling. Things are tense after last night’s developments. Fenech is mostly quiet, although was smiling when Theuma’s lawyer was speaking. His wife and brother are here. Several members of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family are also present.

— Rebecca Vincent (@rebecca_vincent) July 22, 2020

After a break, former police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar was cross examined on issues mainly regarding him pardoning Theuma. Cutajar then revealed that part of the pardon bargain included that Theuma would be provided with a “nationalist lawyer”. Cutajar told the court that he wanted to go through with the investigation and that he shouldered responsibility for the decision to go after the recordings against the middleman, but then added that he played a “minimal role in the investigation” which points out yet another contradiction in his statement.

The courtroom then remained shut to the public and media until the end of the hearing while the recordings requested to be heard by the defense were being listened to by the court. Later a concerning statement was given before court by Parte civile lawyer Jason Azzopardi who said that people might die if the recordings are made public. 

In summary, the eight-hour court session centred around unheard recordings made by Melvin Theuma ended with a court ruling that the audio clips be played behind closed doors while the next session is adjourned to July 30. 

You can read the details of the hearing from the live blog of Times Malta: https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/live-blog-lawrence-cutajar-in-court-as-melvin-theuma-lies-in-hospital.806523

The Coalition For Women In Journalism demands Maltese judiciary to put an end to the misery inflicted not only upon Daphne’s friends and family but also upon the press freedom in the country. We urge the authorities to conduct a transparent, thorough and fair investigation and serve justice in this case where the justice system as a whole stands on a trial.

The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.

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