On the sixth anniversary of the murder of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, we, the undersigned organizations, renew our calls for Maltese authorities to bring to justice all those responsible for her killing and to implement in full the recommendations of the public inquiry into her assassination.  Caruana Galizia, who rose to prominence through her anti-corruption investigations and blogs, was killed by a car bomb in Malta on October 16, 2017. Three men have been convicted for the journalist’s murder and three other suspects await trial.  After pressure from the Caruana Galizia family and civil society, a public inquiry…

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) welcome the resolution adopted today by the European Parliament to pay tribute to the murdered Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and to denounce the lack of political will of the Maltese authorities to fight corruption and guarantee press freedom. Five years after the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia in Bidnija (Malta), the European Parliament pays tribute to the journalist and looks into the rule of law, organised crime, and corruption in Malta. In its resolution adopted with 564 votes in favour, 10 against (the four Maltese MEPs from the socialist group and…

Civil society and journalists’ organisations, including the European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ), denounce government’s lack of ambition and transparency in press freedom reforms and renews calls for full justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia. Five years ago today, investigative reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia was brutally assassinated in a car bomb attack in Malta. Our thoughts are with her family, friends and colleagues. Together with them, we continue to fight for full justice.  Today is a day to remember and celebrate her fearless journalism, the far-reaching impact of her incisive writing on financial crime, abuses of power and deep-seated corruption,…

Following a guilty plea, the Criminal Court today sentenced brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio to 40 years each for their role as hitmen in the assassination of Malta’s leading investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Today, representatives of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Article 19 Europe, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, the International Press Institute and Reporters Without Borders were present at court in Valletta to monitor proceedings.  They were there to hear the unprecedented guilty pleas and subsequent sentencing. This sentence concludes the case against the Degiorgio brothers for their role…

The 16th of October will mark five years since the brutal assassination of Malta’s best-known investigative journalist and anti-corruption campaigner, Daphne Caruana Galizia. To honour her memory and to continue calling for justice, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) organise a vigil in Brussels on 14 October 2022. We invite you to join us to send a clear message that we want to know who killed Daphne and why. We want truth and justice. What: A vigil to pay tribute to the courage of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and to call for justice Where: Outside…

Yorgen Fenech, a Maltese business mogul, has been indicted for the murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 and will face a trial by jury on a date yet to be set. Fenech faces charges of complicity in murder and criminal association. So far, Vince Muscat has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to the murder earlier this year. Two further alleged hitmen, the brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio will also face trial. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes Fenech’s indictment and urges the Maltese authorities to finally end impunity and punish everyone involved…

A public inquiry into the assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has found the state responsible for her death. The report said the state had failed to recognise risks to the reporter’s life and take reasonable steps to avoid them.The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on the Maltese authorities to prosecute all those responsible and to implement the recommendations of the report without delay. Daphne Caruana Galizia died in a car bomb attack near her home on 16 October 2017. An investigation led to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat‘s resignation in 2019 after his close associates were implicated. In a 437-page…

Vincent Muscat, one of the three presumed murderers of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, has been sentenced to 15 years in jail after pleading guilty at the latest hearing into her killing in 2017. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) welcomed the decision and urged the authorities to continue to pursue others involved in her murder. Muscat, an alleged hitman in a contract to kill the journalist, is believed to have negotiated a more lenient sentence in exchange for supplying state prosecutors with information on others involved. Daphne Caruana Galizia’s reporting focused on high-level corruption, including investigations into the Panama Papers in 2016. She was murdered in a…

16 December 2020 marks 38 months since Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated in Malta, yet barriers to justice remain. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) together with the undersigned organisations condemns the continued threats made by the Maltese Government against the independent public inquiry into the circumstances of the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and its three board members. The independence of the inquiry is vital and we call on the Government to uphold its commitments under the European Convention on Human Rights and ensure the inquiry is supported to fulfil its Terms of Reference free from all political threats…

On 16 October 2017, journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated in Malta. Three years later we, the undersigned 19 international free expression, anti-corruption, civic participation, and journalists’ organisations, once again demand an end to impunity for this heinous attack. As alleged murder mastermind, Yorgen Fenech, is facing criminal proceedings and the three defendants charged with carrying out the contract killing Alfred Degiorgio, George Degiorgio and Vincent Muscat, are awaiting trial, we recall that justice delayed is justice denied. We call for thorough and effective criminal investigations and prosecutions that ensure the whole truth is uncovered and all those responsible for…

12 July marks 1,000 days since the assassination of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. On this anniversary, we, the undersigned organisations, once again demand justice for all those involved in her murder and the corruption she exposed. In recent weeks, yet more disturbing revelations of state corruption and impunity related to the case continue to emerge, underscoring the weaknesses in Malta’s rule of law, and entrenched impunity for both the murder of Caruana Galizia and the high-level abuses of power she investigated. During a June 2020 hearing to compile evidence against murder suspect, Yorgen Fenech, the Magistrate ordered the…

The long awaited public inquiry into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia will begin this Friday 6 December at the Law Courts in Valletta. For two years, our organisations have supported the family of Daphne Caruana Galizia in calling for an independent, impartial and effective inquiry. The inquiry will address questions including whether the State knew or ought to have known of the risk to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s life; whether they failed to take measures to protect her life; and whether the State is fulfilling its obligations to protect journalists whose lives are at risk from criminal acts. We will…

Prominent businessman Yorgen Fenech was arrested on 20 November in connection with investigations into the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Fenech was aboard a yacht, apparently trying to leave the country. Maltese prime minister, Joseph Muscat, described Fenech as a “person of interest” in the case and said there was nothing pointing towards the involvement of members of his administration in the murder. He was released on bail on Thursday evening. Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family welcomed the arrest, saying it was “overdue” and added: “we now expect the authorities to continue investigating the links our mother uncovered between…

Two years after the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta, on 16 October 2019, we, the undersigned international free expression, anti-corruption, and journalists’ organisations, once again demand an end to impunity for this heinous attack. Six of our organisations, including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), took part in an international freedom of expression mission to Malta one year ago, where, at the highest levels of government, we raised our profound concerns about this case and the broader worrying free expression environment in Malta – which has fallen 30 places over the past two years and is now…

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ and IFJ) joined today their Maltese affiliate, the Institute of Maltese Journalists (IGM), in standing with those fighting for justice, two years after the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. IFJ and EFJ associate themselves with IGM’s press release issued today: “It has been two years since the day Daphne Caruana Galizia was brutally murdered in a horrific attack on freedom of speech. Two years since a fellow journalist was killed because someone feared what she had to say and used the threat of murder as a tool to censor the Maltese press.…

Wednesday 16 October 2019 will mark two years since the brutal assassination of Malta’s best-known investigative journalist and anti-corruption campaigner, Daphne Caruana Galizia. Although three men have now been formally charged with her murder, a date for their trial has yet to be set while those who ordered her killing remain at large. To honour Daphne Caruana Galizia’s memory and to continue calling for justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ),  the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (a joint FIDH-OMCT programme), Reporters Without Borders (RSF)…