The Archbishop of Malta has strongly condemned the “cruel murder” of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia who was killed on Monday (16 October) when a bomb blew up her car.
Police say a powerful explosive device went off, destroying the vehicle, while Caruana Galizia was driving in northern Malta near her home.
“The loss of this brave journalist fills us with sadness and with determination to continue defending democracy until the very end,” said Archbishop Charles Scicluna in a statement yesterday.
Caruana Galizia, 53, achieved notoriety for her investigative reporting and commentary on alleged corruption in Malta. Her blog - ‘Running Commentary’ - attracted more readers than the combined circulation figures of Malta’s newspapers. She has been described as “a one woman Wikileaks.”
Her most recent revelations alleged links between Malta’s Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, and offshore companies involved with the sale of Maltese passports and payments from the government of Azerbaijan.
Leader of Malta’s opposition party, Adrian Delia, described Caruana Galizia’s death as a “political murder”.
“This is not a time to wage war between us or to blame one another,” Archbishop Scicluna’s statement said.
“As a people we must wake up, defend the dignity of each one of us, and stop the verbal attacks on each other. We must defend the great value of democracy by moving from words to actions,” he added.
The Archbishop said he was praying for the soul of the victim and her family. He concluded by urging all journalists to defend truth and “to be afraid of no one and to be servants of the people and of democracy”.
In a statement given at a press conference on 16 October, Joseph Muscat condemned the “barbaric attack”.
“Everyone knows Ms Caruana Galizia was a harsh critic of mine both politically and personally, but nobody can justify this barbaric act in any way,” he added.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. A local television station has said Caruana Galizia filed a report with police two weeks ago saying that she had been receiving threats.
The American FBI will assist in the investigation, Muscat has announced.
PICTURE: Daphne Caruana Galizia ©YouTube
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