Joint Statement by Member Parties of the European Democratic Party on the ninth anniversary of the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia
Nine years ago, Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb outside her home in Bidnija, Malta. Nine years on, no one has been held legally responsible for ordering her murder.
Those who planted and supplied the bomb are in prison, but those who wanted her killed are still at large. For her family, for Maltese journalists, and for every European who believes a free press is the foundation of democracy, that is not acceptable.
We respect the independence of Malta’s courts and the jury’s verdict last month. We also note that the Attorney General has appealed, and we expect that appeal to be pursued with full commitment and resources. Justice must be pursued to its end.
Daphne’s murder did not happen in a vacuum. A public inquiry has already found that the Maltese State created a climate of impunity in which Daphne could be killed. Her journalism helped to expose corruption reaching into the highest levels of government. She was smeared, isolated and left without protection, while those she wrote about kept their power for too long.
Nine years later, the institutional failures that made her murder possible have still not been fully addressed. Too much power still rests in too few hands. Calls for “prudence” must not become calls for silence. Those in government should be working to rebuild public confidence in the police, the prosecution, and the courts, not defending the status quo.
It is sad and unacceptable that persons high up who, through the proceedings of the recent trial, have been proven to have been corrupted by the suspected mastermind, have been rewarded by the present Prime Minister with top important positions, including a ministerial post.
We welcome the work that many in Malta have already been doing, including our member party Momentum. Momentum has put forward proposals for an independent Special Prosecutor’s Office for high-profile corruption cases, the automatic publication of magisterial inquiries, legal immunity for whistleblowers, stronger anti-SLAPP protections for journalists and civil society, and a two-thirds parliamentary majority for key appointments such as the Police Commissioner. These are exactly the safeguards that were missing when Daphne needed them. The European Democratic Party supports this work fully.
What happens in Malta matters to the whole European Union, since the rule of law is an obligation shared by every Member State. We therefore call on the European Commission to give this case, and the reforms still outstanding in Malta, full attention in its next Rule of Law Report, and on all Member States to ensure that European rules protecting journalists are fully applied.
Today we stand with Daphne’s family, with Malta’s journalists and with those citizens who have taken to the streets demanding justice. We will not forget her, and we will not stop asking who ordered her murder.
- ALMA – Citizens for Cyprus (Cyprus) Odysseas Michaelides, Leader
- Democrats-Progressive Centre (Greece), Stefanos Kasselakis, Leader
- Euzkadi Buru Batzarreko Burukidea (Spain), Miren Martiarena Barkaiztegi, Spokesperson, Foreign Affairs and Equality, Youth and Helduak
- Juntos pelo Povo (JPP), (Portugal), Leonardo Reis, National Secretariat member
- Junts per Catalunya (Spain), Aleix Sarri, Spokesperson, Foreign Affairs
- Momentum (Malta), Arnold Cassola, Leader
- MMNP Mindenki Magyarországa Néppárt (All People’s Party), (Hungary), Peter MARKI-ZAY, President
- Young Democrats for Europe (YDE), Alice Bernard-Montini, President
Momentum will be joining the demonstration taking place in Valletta tonight to honour the memory of Daphne Caruana Galizia and will continue to demand justice.
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