Caruana Galizia, 53 – who ran a hugely popular blog highlighting political corruption – was killed in October 2017 near the village of Bidnija
A new book exploring the murder of a journalist who helped expose the infamous Panama Papers in a Maltese car bombing says the island’s most powerful figures are still among potential suspects.
Whilst three men have been charged over the devastating explosion which killed Daphne Caruana Galizia, no one knows who they were working for, no date has been set for their trial and no convictions brought.
Three investigators, including former BBC journalist John Sweeney, are now publishing a book examining the murky circumstances surrounding her death.
In Murder on The Malta Express – Who Killed Daphne Caruana Galizia? the trio say it was Malta’s ‘culture of impunity’ which helped create the conditions where its ‘greatest and most fearless journalist’ could have been murdered.
A new book exploring the murder of a journalist who helped expose the infamous Panama Papers in a Maltese car bombing says the island’s most powerful figures are still among potential suspects
In Murder on The Malta Express – Who Killed Daphne Caruana Galizia? the trio say it was Malta’s ‘culture of impunity’ which helped create the conditions where its ‘greatest and most fearless journalist’ could have been murdered
Sweeney describes how the authors felt ‘Daphne’s anger’ over the ‘corrupt politicians, bent cops and sleazy judges’ who they say have prevented her family from getting the justice they deserve.
He told MailOnline: ‘At the second anniversary of Daphne’s death, the Maltese authorities have yet to set a date for the trial of suspects Alfred and George Degiorgio and Vincent Muscat.
Sweeney describes how the authors felt ‘Daphne’s anger’ over the ‘corrupt politicians, bent cops and sleazy judges’ who they say have prevented her family from getting the justice they deserve
‘The Maltese authorities have yet to open a public and independent inquiry into the killing.
‘They have yet to apprehend the masterminds. And they have yet to investigate those whose misdeeds Daphne had revealed. Malta is not normal.’
Caruana Galizia, 53 – who ran a hugely popular blog highlighting political corruption – was killed in October 2017 near the village of Bidnija.
The car she was driving was turned into a bomb which ended up burnt out in a field near her Mediterranean island village home.
By the time her campaigning journalist son Matthew – who heard the explosion from their house – arrived as one of the first on the scene, her body parts had been scattered and only her torso remained in the remnants of the burnt-out vehicle.
Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat – who along with his wife Michelle, the leader of the opposition and politicians including his chief of staff and a senior cabinet minister had faced the tireless campaigner’s accusations of wrong-doing – immediately denounced her killing.
Caruana Galizia had told police she’d received threats two weeks before her death and her last blog post 24 minutes before her death read: ‘There are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate.’
He said that whilst she had been a ‘harsh critic’ of government, it was a ‘barbaric attack on press freedom’ and claimed he would ‘not rest until I see justice done’.
Muscat had won an early election seeking a vote of confidence to counter Caruana Galizia’s allegations of corruption.
As part of the Panama Papers, Caruana Galizia had said documents in a small Malta-based bank showed that Muscat’s wife was the beneficial owner of a Panama company.
The journalist also alleged that large sums of money had been moved between the company and bank accounts in Azerbaijan.
A photo from 1989 shows Peter and Daphne Caruana Galizia with their sons Matthew, Andrew and Paul
Daphne Caruana Galizia is pictured with one of her three sons, Andrew in 1988, and again right
Muscat and his wife denied the accusation and sued Caruana Galizia for defamation.
In Murder on The Malta Express, the authors highlight a 2019 Council of Europe report which found that the Maltese PM is on his fifth police chief in six years.
It also concluded that Malta’s judges are political appointees, leaving a state of affairs ‘fundamentally incompatible with the idea of judicial independence’.
It went on to list 10 serious concerns over Malta’s investigation into the case.
The book draws up a list of Daphne’s enemies which she’d brought to book as potential suspects who could have hired her killers – all of whom deny any wrongdoing.
Those in the list include the PM’s ‘duo of creepy consiglieri’, a Maltese EU commissioner forced to resign amid bribery allegations, a minister accused of visiting a brothel, an Iranian money-laundering bank boss and a Swiss lawyer who sold citizenships to the very rich.
Yet two years on the case remains unsolved.
Whilst three men have been charged over the devastating explosion which killed Daphne Caruana Galizia, no one knows who they were working for, no date has been set for their trial and no convictions brought. A vigil for the journalist is pictured above
The book draws up a list of Daphne’s enemies which she’d brought to book as potential suspects who could have hired her killers – all of whom deny any wrongdoing. A makeshift memorial for the journalist is pictured above
Caruana Galizia had told police she’d received threats two weeks before her death and her last blog post 24 minutes before her death read: ‘There are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate.’
Corinne Vella, Daphne’s sister said: ‘Two years after Daphne’s assassination, there is still no justice for her or for her stories. Daphne’s name is now on the Council of Europe Platform to End Impunity. We will make sure it doesn’t remain there.’