The sons of a murdered Maltese journalist carried her coffin during her emotional funeral service.
Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb on October 16 by a suspected criminal gang she was investigating.
The anti-corruption campaigner was laid to rest after a service in Mosta, close to the site where the blogger was blown up in a car bombing in an October 16 attack which made headlines around the world.
The coffin of slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was carried by her three sons during her funeral service in Mosta in Malta, less than a month after she was killed in a car bomb
Daphne Caruana Galizia, pictured, was killed by a car bomb near Mosta on October 16
Thousands of people stood outside the church during today’s funeral service
Archbishop Charles Scicluna told relatives and friends: ‘We still do not know who killed Daphne.
‘Whoever took part, I tell you this: however hard you try to evade the justice of men, you will never escape the justice of God.’
Ms Caruana Galizia, 53, had made repeated and detailed corruption allegations for years against Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s inner circle and had recently turned her investigative scrutiny on the opposition as well.
After her death, her family accused Muscat of creating a culture of impunity that turned Malta into a ‘mafia island’.
Crowds gathered outside the Roman Catholic Church after the ceremony broke into applause as her coffin, covered in white flowers, was carried outside by her sons Matthew, 31, Andrew, 26, and Paul, 21.
EU Parliament chief Antonio Tajani and the OSCE’s media freedom representative Harlem Desir both paid their respects at the church, while flags outside the European Commission in Brussels flew at half mast.
In a statement, the European Commission said: ‘The right of a journalist to investigate, ask uncomfortable questions and report effectively, is at the heart of our values and needs to be guaranteed at all times.’
The EU on Friday warned Malta that ‘the eyes of Europe’ are watching it as it investigates the murder of a campaigning journalist, demanding the authorities ‘leave no stone unturned’ in their probe.
It is unusual for the EU to comment on a criminal probe in a member state.
European Parliament chief Antonio Tajani has already demanded an international investigation into the murder.