The assassination of the Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia last October is a tragic reminder of the ever-present dangers that crusading journalists and whistleblowers face on a daily basis – even when reporting here inside the EU. The laws that purport to safeguard their and our basic human rights, professional dignity and media freedom are clearly inadequate. With Galizia’s murder and the ongoing cases against the LuxLeaks whistleblowers and Julian Assange, the EU still has a long way to go in offering proper protection for journalists and whistleblowers. In honour of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the European United Left / Nordic…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is pleased to be an official partner of the discussion “Assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia – Demand for Close International Scrutiny”, held as a side event to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Jan. 22, 2018. Three months to the day after Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination, MPs Anne Brasseur (ALDE, Luxembourg), Pieter Omtzigt (EPP, Netherlands) and Frank Schwabe (SOC, Germany) announce an event to be held in her honour on the margins of the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Jan. 22,…

The undersigned organisations, partners of the Council of Europe Platform for the Promotion of Journalism and the Protection of Journalists, are deeply concerned over the lack of progress in the investigation into the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The authorities have announced the arrests of three suspects in connection with her murder, but there remains a widespread belief that those who ordered this crime have not yet been identified. Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered in a car bomb explosion on October 16, a few meters away from her home. Her death raised concerns not only about protection of…

A European delegation of representatives from the various political parties of the European Parliament has released on Thursday the report from its mission to Malta, on 30 November and 1 December 2017. The delegation met Maltese journalists, the police commissioner and the attorney general of Malta, to discuss important issues affecting the rule of law in the country – including the state of the media. Maltese journalists from the Times of Malta, the Malta Independent and The Shift News were greeted by the delegation. The journalists highlighted legal challenges facing journalists, including libel cases, which are easy for the accusers but…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), together with the Italian NGO Ossigeno per l’Informazione, called on the Maltese authorities, on Wednesday, to identify and prosecute the masterminds behind journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia‘s murder. The reporter was killed on 16 October 2017 by a powerful car bomb in Bidnija town, near her family home. Following the arrest of at least 10 suspects on Monday 4 December, brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio, together with Vincent Muscat, were finally charged with the criminal use of explosives, being involved in organised crime, and criminal conspiracy during a hearing which took place on 5 December. The charged…

The Faculty for Social Wellbeing of the University of Malta is organising, in collaboration with Ossigeno per l’Informazione, the following Symposium: “The Assault on Journalism: Taking stock of pressures on journalists in the aftermath of the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia”, on 6 December (3pm to 7 pm), at UM Valletta Campus. At the centre of the supreme value of democracy is the right of everyone to receive and impart information. The Faculty for Social Wellbeing recognizes that freedom of expression is one of the basic conditions for the progress of society and for the development of every person. Journalists enable public debate,…

Sixteen press freedom and media professional groups condemn the killing of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and demand an immediate and independent investigation into her death. “The murder of a prominent investigative journalist in broad daylight in an EU Member State underscores the seriousness of this crime. Daphne Caruana Galizia’s work as a journalist to hold power to account and shine a light on corruption is vital to maintaining our democratic institutions. Her killing is a loss for her country and for Europe”, Hannah Machlin, project manager for Index on Censorship’s data platform Mapping Media Freedom, said. Daphne Caruana Galizia…

Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has been murdered on 16 October around 3pm by a car bomb in the town of Bidnija, near her family home. The European and International Federations of Journalists condemned today this killing. Daphne Caruana Galizia, 53, was known for her investigative journalism and her blog Running Commentary, which was one of the most widely read websites in Malta. The journalist has been sued many times for her blog posts in which she revealed several corruption scandals involving Maltese politicians. The EFJ had denounced in February 2017 the freeze of her bank accounts as well as the…

Updated on 16.05.2017. Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has filed on the 10th of May 2017 a defamation case against Matthew Caruana Galizia, journalist at the International consortium of investigative journalists (ICIJ) and Pulitzer Prize winner, for revealing documents through the Panama Papers accusing Maltese Prime Minister of corruption. Joseph Muscat denied the journalist’s allegations. The European Federation of Journalists called on the minister to reconsider his legal action, highlighting the chilling effect of such an action on media freedom. Caruana Galizia is sued in relation to a series of posts and documents published on his Facebook page proving, among others, that the Prime Minister took kickbacks on the sale of Maltese passports, via his chief of staff Keith…

Malta Independent columnist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia is having her bank accounts frozen with a precautionary warrant for 47,460€ after a court upheld yesterday (08.02.2017) a request by Maltese Economy Minister Chris Cardona and his consultant Joe Gerada to issue garnishee orders alongside four libel suits they have filed against her. The journalist is sued for publishing on her blog an article reporting that both men visited a brothel in Velbert, in Germany, while on government business. Cardona has denied the allegation. According to media reports, the effect of the precautionary warrants on her assets means her bank accounts…