Police insist Schembri's phone data cannot be handed to Fenech's lawyers yet
Lawyers for the police on Monday continued to insist that they cannot hand Yorgen Fenech data extracted from a phone belonging to Keith Schembri as their investigations and a magisterial inquiry are still under way. Fenech, who stands accused of complicity in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, requested the phone data in a case where he is seeking the removal of Superintendent Keith Arnaud from the case. Keith Schembri, formerly chief of staff of the prime minister, was a close personal friend on Fenech. The data was extracted from two mobile phones seized during a search at Schembri’s home in September 2020 in the course of a magisterial inquiry into alleged financial crimes. Fenech’s lawyers argue that although the data does not come from the device that allegedly went offline shortly before Schembri’s arrest late in 2019, it was nonetheless “essential” to their case. Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa’ is objecting, arguing that the data forms part of an ongoing inquiry and is therefore confidential. The First Hall, Civil Court, presided over by Mr Justice Lawrence Mintoff, had ruled in favour of Fenech's lawyers, ordering the police commissioner to hand over a copy of that...