Five years ago today, investigative reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia was brutally assassinated in a car bomb attack in Malta. Our thoughts are with her family, friends and colleagues. Together with them, we continue to fight for justice.
It is deeply saddening that we have issued a similar statement every year since Caruana Galizia’s murder. Today should be a day to remember and celebrate her fearless journalism, the far-reaching impact of her incisive writing on financial crime, abuses of power and deep-seated corruption, and her unwavering commitment to uncovering the truth and serving the public’s right to information.
Instead, we must yet again note that progress in criminal investigations and prosecutions has been minimal and intolerably slow. Impunity serves to embolden those who use violence to silence critical journalism and it ends only when all those responsible for the heinous murder have been prosecuted to the full extent of the law: the assassins, intermediaries and the mastermind must be brought to justice without further delay.
Similarly, we must point out the unacceptable lack of implementation of the recommendations made by the landmark Public Inquiry into Caruana Galizia’s assassination and the exclusion of structured public consultation, including with our organisations, on proposed legal amendments relating to the safety of journalists and SLAPPs, which in the latter case fail to meet international standards. The process provides a historic opportunity for the Government of Malta to implement its obligations under international and European legal and policy frameworks to create an enabling environment for journalism and to protect journalists.
The lack of political will to initiate the effective and systemic reform that is needed casts doubt on whether Malta’s political class has drawn any lessons from Caruana Galizia’s assassination. Where is the sense of urgency to fix the rotten power structures and dangerous conditions for journalists who report on them, violently exposed by the blast five years ago?
Signed by:
Access Info Europe
Access to Information Programme (AIP)
ARTICLE 19 Europe
Association of European Journalists-Belgium (AEJ Belgium)
Civic Alliance (CA) Montenegro
Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties)
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Corporate Europe Observatory
English PEN
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
European Integrity Academy – AntiCorruption Youth Greece
Free Press Unlimited (FPU)
Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD)
IFEX
Index on Censorship
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
International Institute for Regional Media and Information (IRMI) Ukraine
International Media Support (IMS)
International Press Institute (IPI)
Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann
Kosova Democratic Institute
Legal Human Academy
Media Diversity Institute
OBC Transeuropa (OBCT)
Oživení, z.s. (CZ)
Partners Albania for Change and Development
PEN International
PEN Malta
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Scottish PEN
Society of Journalists, Warsaw
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)
Syri i Vizionit
Transparency International EU
Wales PEN Cymru