European Federation of Journalists

Vigil for Daphne Caruana Galizia: No justice two years on


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) and Transparency International EU will organise a vigil in Brussels.

Please join us on Wednesday 16 October to send a loud and clear message that we want to know who killed Daphne and why.  We need truth and justice.

What: A vigil to pay tribute to the courage of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and to call for justice

Where: Outside the Residence Palace, 155 rue de la loi, 1040 Brussels

When: Wednesday 16 October at 1pm

Further information

At 3pm on 16 October 2017, as Daphne Caruana Galizia drove away from her family home in Bidnija, in Northern Malta, a bomb placed under the seat of her car was detonated. She was 53 years old. The last words she wrote were ‘there are crooks everywhere. The situation is desperate.’

Two years since her brutal murder, the Maltese authorities have yet to identify and prosecute all those involved in planning and carrying the attack. Dozens of civil defamation lawsuits continue against her posthumously, which our organisations consider vexatious and not in line with international best practice.

The Maltese authorities’ recent announcement to launch a public inquiry into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia is a long overdue and essential step towards justice. We support the Caruana Galizia family’s call to ensure the full independence and impartiality of the inquiry, including through close scrutiny of the composition and actions of the Board of Inquiry.

Credit photo: CP/EFJ