Daphne Caruana Galizia: police quiz Malta PM's ex-chief of staff - Keith Schembri
Channel: Laugh All
Date: 27/11/2019

The Maltese prime minister’s chief of staff, who resigned this week, spent Tuesday night in police custody being questioned in relation to the murder of the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Keith Schembri, a businessman who has run the office of the prime minister, Joseph Muscat, since the Malta Labour party came to power in 2013, was arrested on Tuesday, police sources confirmed.

It is understood he is being questioned about allegations made by the businessman Yorgen Fenech, who was arrested last week after trying to leave Malta onboard his yacht, that he was a co-conspirator in the murder of Caruana Galizia. Fenech, who is himself under suspicion for his involvement in the killing, is understood to have provided evidence that implicates Schembri in the hope of receiving a presidential pardon for helping secure the conviction.

Caruana Galizia’s family said they were seeking an urgent meeting with the attorney general, Peter Grech, in an effort to prevent Fenech from being granted a pardon. “We urgently want to clarify the situation,” the family confirmed. An official in the attorney general’s office said he would meet the family to discuss their concerns.

Schembri’s lawyer, Edward Gatt, did not respond to a request for comment. Malta police have made no statement.