Maltese businessman paid hitmen €150,000 to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia, jury hears

Yorgen Fenech in 2019. His trial began this week in Valetta;. Photograph: Yara Nardi/Reuters View image in fullscreen Yorgen Fenech in 2019. His trial began this week in Valetta;. Photograph: Yara Nardi/Reuters Maltese businessman paid hitmen €150,000 to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia, jury hears Yorgen Fenech, heir to property empire, on trial for alleged involvement in murder of journalist in 2017 One of Malta’s wealthiest businessmen plotted to kill the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia , paying €150,000 (£130,000) for three hitmen to carry out the murder, a jury has heard. Yorgen Fenech, the 44-year-old heir to a property empire that includes the Hilton Malta hotel and casino, is on trial for the 2017 murder. Caruana Galizia died after a bomb planted in her car was detonated. A magazine publisher, newspaper columnist and blogger, she was one of the most recognised media figures in the country. Her reporting on leading government and business figures had made her a target of repeated attacks by politicians and their supporters, and her violent death caused outrage across Europe . Fenech was arrested seven years ago. Following numerous delays and being released on bail in February after the time during which he could legally be held expired, his trial began on Wednesday morning at the courts of justice in Malta’s capital, Valletta. View image in fullscreen Image of Daphne Caruana Galizia seen at a vigil outside the law courts in Valletta, Malta in 2018. Photograph: Jonathan Borg/AP The accused, wearing a navy suit and glasses, entered a plea of not guilty. Fenech has been indicted on two counts: complicity in the voluntary homicide of Caruana Galizia, and association with a person or persons in Malta with the intention of committing a crime there. He is one of seven men prosecutors accused of involvement in the killing, and the last to face trial. Five of the seven have been convicted and one secured a pardon in exchange for testimony. Amid concerns over the level of media interest in the case and its potential impact on the public, the opposing parties took five hours to agree on a jury selection, while those reporting for duty waited outside the courtroom for their names to be called. Officials were called to help after one reserve juror fainted as temperatures rose to 33C. Under Maltese law the jury will be segregated for the entire duration of the trial, living in a hotel and unable to access computers, mobile phones or smart watches. The trial opened with a reading of the bill of indictment, a summary of the allegations written by government prosecutors. The jury heard how, shortly before 3pm on 16 October 2017, Caruana Galizia’s car swerved off the road into a field as she was driving away from her home in the village of Bidnija. A powerful bomb contained in a children’s shoebox had been placed under the driver’s seat, the jury were told. The bombers, who prosecutors say were paid €150,000 to carry out the attack, had broken in