Before the 48 hour deadline for the police to release or charge Yorgen Fenech after his spectacular arrest out at sea aboard his yacht Gio, the owner of 17 Black suspected of being the mastermind behind the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia has been released by the police without charge.
The police have said they have given Yorgen Fenech “police bail” which amount to conditions of release while investigations are ongoing.
Sources told this website cross-checking of facts that are required to back any accusations against Yorgen Fenech is still ongoing.
Sources also inform this website Yorgen Fenech has hired Gianluca Caruana Curran as his attorney (not as previously reported his mother Gianella Demarco).
The prime minister, who over the last three days has presented himself as lead investigator in this crime, has made no comments yet.
In earlier remarks today the prime minister clarified that Yorgen Fenech was not arrested on the basis of information given by Melvyn Theuma the Portomaso-based taxi driver arrested last week and identified as the “middleman” in the conspiracy to murder Daphne Caruana Galizia.
The prime minister was also cagey about the prospect of giving Melvyn Theuma an immunity deal to testify against other participants in the assassination. This 48 hours after he announced he had decided to undertake to grant such a deal. The prime minister said today Melvyn Theuma had “not given all information” though Joseph Muscat was not specific about what he expected “all information” to be.
Sources in the police earlier today were indicating they were asked to prepare for an arraignment of Yorgen Fenech around 1am tonight. Now, it seems, the police are no longer in a position to charge Yorgen Fenech.
Given the prime minister’s blow by blow account of the details of interrogations over the last three days it is reasonable to presume it was Joseph Muscat who decided Yorgen Fenech is to be released.