Daphne Caruana Galizia was coldly eliminated because she believed in her mission of investigation, and because she proudly wore the colours of her profession. Her targets were corruption, crooked politicians and organised crime. Her only weapon was her pen. She was relentless in her pursuit of mafia networks. She probably disturbed too many powerful people, and paid for it with her life. An attack on Malta is an attack on the whole of Europe”.
These are the lines I wrote, in shock, in L’Opinion on 22 October 2017. Six days earlier, investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia had been murdered in Malta and I called for an independent international investigation to identify the circumstances and the instigators of this heinous murder as soon as possible.
Where are we, more than three years later?
On the one hand, it must be said that those who hoped that by eliminating Daphne Caruana Galizia, they would also bury her struggle, were quite mistaken: the investigations led by the journalist are bearing fruit, and the enquiries are progressing, slowly but surely.
On the other hand, all the light has still not been shed on her murder.
One of the three henchmen arrested in connection with the investigation has been identified and convicted. But, to date, those who ordered the assassination have not yet been identified.
Unbelievably, even though recent testimonies point insistently to the highest levels of government, no action has been taken against several people suspected of being involved in the organisation and cover-up of the assassination.
This situation is intolerable in a European country. In this context, it is becoming increasingly clear that only international pressure on the Valletta government will lead to progress.
I therefore call on the European Commission to put pressure on the Maltese authorities. They must understand that the whole of Europe’s eyes are on them, and that we expect them to do what is necessary to ensure that justice is done.
“Let us not allow her to have died in vain, and to be forgotten”, I wrote in 2017. Today I appeal to my colleagues in the European Parliament: let us live up to the fight waged by Daphne Caruana Galizia, her relatives and the journalists who have taken on that fight. Let us speak with one voice so that the truth can finally come out. And above all, let us say loud and clear that we will never tolerate the murder of journalists in Europe with impunity. My colum in l’Opinion
