Murder suspect Yorgen Fenech has had another request for bail turned down by the court, which said there is still a real fear that he could abscond or interfere with evidence. 

Fenech, who has been in preventive custody since his arraignment in November 2019, is accused of complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

In his application, Fenech said that he could not understand why he has been held in preventive custody for almost four years and questioned what is stopping the authorities from granting him bail. 

The Court of Criminal Appeal however said that the circumstances presented by the Attorney General objecting to bail have not changed, and that any guarantees that Fenech could provide would not assuage fears of absconding. 

“The charges brought against [Fenech] are of a very serious nature and there is a very real fear of absconding or interfering with evidence,” the ruling reads. 

“The court cannot agree that circumstances have changed and cannot acquiesce to this request.”

Fenech’s lawyers have filed at least 15 applications before Maltese courts attempting to have him released on bail, all of which have failed.

Last year a court found that the repeated denial of bail was not breaching Fenech’s rights. 

In April, Fenech took the matter of his bail to the European Court of Human Rights, saying that the authorities and the courts have not duly substantiated his prolonged detention.