Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed on 16 October 2017 when a bomb placed under her car exploded as she drove away from her home in Bidnija, in the north of the island of Malta. A specialist in investigating corruption, her work included exposés of the shady secret deals, uncovered in the Panama Papers, that show how politicians and others hide illicit wealth behind secret companies. Her allegations about government corruption led to early elections in the country last June.
Index on Censorship’s project manager for Mapping Media Freedom, Hannah Machlin, spoke with RTK, a Catholic radio station in Malta, about Caruana Galizia’s murder.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Nearly 60 free expression advocates marked the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists by honouring the courage of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, and call for justice in her case.
Caruana Galizia was tragically killed on 16 October when a bomb placed under her car exploded as she drove away from her home in Bidnija, in the north of the island of Malta. A specialist in investigating corruption, her work included exposés of the shady secret deals, uncovered in the Panama Papers, that show how politicians and others hide illicit wealth behind secret companies. Her allegations about government corruption led to early elections in the country last June.
“Daphne Caruana Galizia showed remarkable courage in relentlessly pursuing investigations into official corruption and publishing stories that some clearly wanted to keep hidden, for which she paid the ultimate price. We call for justice for Daphne, and for an end to the vicious cycle of violence against journalists and impunity for their attackers everywhere it occurs. An attack on a journalist anywhere is an attack on journalism itself”, said Rebecca Vincent, UK Bureau Director for Reporters Without Borders.
“Daphne Caruana Galizia embodied the courage and commitment of independent journalists everywhere to bring us the news and illuminate inconvenient truths at great risk. Her cowardly murder must not go unpunished. Today we stand with Caruana Galizia’s family, friends, and colleagues, in the pledge to seek justice for her and for all journalists who have paid the ultimate price simply for doing their job”, said Nina Ognianova, Europe and Central Asia Programme Coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“For decades, leading investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia fought courageously to uncover corruption in her native Malta, in spite of ongoing intimidation, threats, lawsuits and attacks on her family home. Following her brutal murder, it is crucial that we come together to pay tribute to her bravery, to call for a full and impartial investigation, and to continue her legacy”, said Cat Lucas, Writers at Risk Programme Manager for English PEN.
“We are shocked and saddened at the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia. It’s important and necessary that we acknowledge her today and moving forward to pay tribute to her bravery in fighting corruption in her country. Her tragic death will serve as a stark reminder of the dangers journalists around the world face every day in doing their important work”, said Laura Gane, Editorial Director of the Frontline Club.
“The murder of a prominent investigative journalist in broad daylight in an EU Member State underscores the seriousness of this crime. Daphne Caruana Galizia’s work as a journalist to hold power to account and shine a light on corruption is vital to maintaining our democratic institutions. Her killing is a loss for her country and for Europe”, said Hannah Machlin, Project Manager for Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom programme.
“Daphne Caruana Galizia was a lone but important voice, and her death leaves a void in a country that urgently needs to address the growing widespread perception that it is failing in its efforts to end corruption”, said Patricia Moreira, Managing Director of Transparency International.
Co-sponsors of the London vigil included ARTICLE 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists, English PEN, Frontline Club, Index on Censorship, PEN International, Reporters Without Borders, and Transparency International.
Malta is ranked 47th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ 2017 World Press Freedom Index, and 47th out of 176 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2016.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”80577″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2017/10/impunity-crimes-against-journalists-unresolved/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Index on Censorship and Reporters Without Borders have highlighted prominent cases of impunity.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”96085″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2017/10/daphne-caruana-galizia-life-and-career/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese journalist and blogger known for her investigative reporting on controversial and sensitive information.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”96373″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2017/10/international-press-freedom-groups-condemn-killing-maltese-investigative-journalist/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Sixteen press freedom groups condemn the killing of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and demand an immediate and independent investigation into her death.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”Mapping Media Freedom” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-times-circle” color=”black” background_style=”rounded” size=”xl” align=”right”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Since 24 May 2014, Mapping Media Freedom’s team of correspondents and partners have recorded and verified 3,597 violations against journalists and media outlets.
Index campaigns to protect journalists and media freedom. You can help us by submitting reports to Mapping Media Freedom.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_separator color=”black”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Don’t lose your voice. Stay informed.” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Index on Censorship is a nonprofit that campaigns for and defends free expression worldwide. We publish work by censored writers and artists, promote debate, and monitor threats to free speech. We believe that everyone should be free to express themselves without fear of harm or persecution – no matter what their views.
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Anti-corruption activists, press freedom advocates and investigative journalists from around the world condemn the barbaric murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, an investigative journalist from Malta who courageously exposed organised crime and corruption in politics.
Only when corruption is uncovered can action be taken to hold criminals to account. Anti-corruption activists work side-by-side with investigative journalists to shine a light into the dark world of corruption and advocate action to end impunity.
We call on the authorities in Malta to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice. Those who expose corruption must be protected, not intimidated.
Caruana Galizia’s work included exposés of the shady secret deals, uncovered in the Panama Papers, that show how politicians and others hide illicit wealth behind secret companies.
Our thoughts are with her family.
“My mother was assassinated because she stood between the rule of law and those who sought to violate it, like many strong journalists. But she was also targeted because she was the only person doing so,” said Matthew Caruana Galizia, developer and data journalist at ICIJ.
Sixteen press freedom groups condemn the killing of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and demand an immediate and independent investigation into her death.
“The murder of a prominent investigative journalist in broad daylight in an EU Member State underscores the seriousness of this crime. Daphne Caruana Galizia’s work as a journalist to hold power to account and shine a light on corruption is vital to maintaining our democratic institutions. Her killing is a loss for her country and for Europe”, Hannah Machlin, project manager for Index on Censorship’s data platform Mapping Media Freedom, said.
Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed when the car she was driving exploded in Bidnija around 15.00 on 16 October in what is thought to have been a targeted attack..
“Because Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and parts of Malta’s political elite were targets of Galizia’s disclosures, we strongly recommend an independent investigation of this case. The killers have to be found and put on trial.”
The blast left her vehicle in several pieces and threw debris into a nearby field. Half an hour before the powerful explosion, the journalist posted a comment about a libel claim the prime minister’s chief of staff had brought against a former opposition leader over comments the latter made about corruption.
Galizia filed a police report 16 days ago saying she was being threatened.
Galizia had conducted a series of high profile corruption investigations and has been subject to dozens of libel suits and harassment. Because of her research, in February, assets were frozen following a request filed by Economic Minister Chris Cardona and his EU presidency policy officer Joseph Gerada.
On 24 August opposition leader Adrian Delia filed a lawsuit against her over stories linking him to offshore accounts totalling to £1 million earned from alleged prostitution in London flats. On 11 March Silvio Debono, owner of the real estate investment company DB Group, filed 19 libel cases against her after Caruana Galizia published a number of articles about his deals with the Maltese government to take over a large tract of high value public land.
Galizia also conducted an investigation linking the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his wife Michelle to secret offshore bank accounts to allegedly hide payments from Azerbaijan’s ruling family, which were unveiled in the Panama Papers. She worked on this investigation with her son Matthew Caruana Galizia, a journalist for the Pulitzer prize winning International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, who has had his posts on allegations of wrongdoing by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his associates censored on Facebook.
On 17 October 2017, her family filed an urgent application for the Duty Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera to abstain from investigating Caruana Galizia’s murder because of the court’s “flagrant conflict of interest”. In 2011, the magistrate initiated court proceedings against the journalist over comments she had made about Magistrate Herrera.
Seven reports of violations of press freedom were verified in Malta in 2017, according to Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom project. Five of those are linked to Caruana Galizia and her family.
The murder has brought widespread condemnation from the international community including statements from Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jaglan and OSCE’s Media Freedom Representative Harlem Désir.
We, the undersigned press freedom organisations call for:
— An independent and transparent investigation into the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia
— Protection for her family members and for other Maltese journalists who have been under threat
— Measures to protect the environment for independent and critical journalism to ensure that reporters can work freely
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1508321261018-6a10a188-6c0b-6″ taxonomies=”8996″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Nearly 60 free expression advocates marked the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists by honouring the courage of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, and call for justice in her case.