Messages extracted from Yorgen Fenech’s phone have been added to evidence presented in a public inquiry into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Lawyers representing the Caruana Galizia family presented two files of evidence as well as a USB drive when the public inquiry board reconvened on Friday. The files contained printouts of chats extracted from Fenech’s phone, as well as printouts that prove the existence of certain WhatsApp chat groups.
“This is just a very tiny minuscule selection... just 0.001% of what we have to go through,” lawyer Therese Comodini Cachia explained.
The inquiry was given access to a selection of messages from Fenech’s phone following a decree to that effect by magistrate Rachel Montebello, who is presiding over Fenech’s murder compilation. Magistrate Montebello issued a decree on May 31, allowing chats that concern people who had testified before the public inquiry to be presented to the three-judge board.
Several witnesses who testified at the inquiry have faced questions related to messages extracted from Fenech’s phone, from former PN leader Adrian Delia to former MFSA chief Joseph Cuschieri and Inland Revenue Commissioner Marvin Gaerty.
Magistrate Montebello’s decree came after Fenech, who stands accused of complicity in Caruana Galizia’s 2017 murder, had filed a legal note objecting to the chats being mentioned during inquiry proceedings.
On Friday, Comodini Cachia said most of the chat messages were dated since January 2019, although a few were older than that.
She noted that although certain group chats had been deleted, the files presented to the inquiry featured evidence that the groups existed as well as evidence of when members had exited the groups.
Along with the printouts, the board was also given a USB pen drive.
“I suggest you read the contents on your computers, as that allows for larger print and colour images,” the lawyer explained.
After taking note of those documents, board chairman and former judge Michael Mallia declared that there was no further evidence to put forward and put off the inquiry for final judgment.
He noted that the inquiry was not conducting a criminal investigation and was interested in the modus operandi and network involving people in their public role.
Madam Justice Abigail Lofaro, who also sits on the board, assured that the public would be notified when the board decision was concluded.
The inquiry was established in November 2019. It had been tasked with, among other things, to determine whether the state facilitated Caruana Galizia's assassination or failed to prevent it in any way.