Media Advisory | No justice two years on for Daphne Caruana Galizia

Supporters create a vigil outside Malta's High Commission in London on the one year anniversary of Daphne Caruana Galizia's killing

Wednesday 16 October 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 keep calling for justice in her case, a group of Maltese people living, studying, and working in London, together with a number of free expression NGOs, will organise a candlelight vigil in London. Similar events will take place in Malta and in other European cities.

What: A vigil to pay tribute to the courage of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and to call for justice Where: The Challoner Hall, 24 Golden Square, London W1F 9JR. Nearest Tube station: Piccadilly Circus. Please note the hall can host up to 70 people. When: Wednesday 16 October, from 7.30pm to 8.30pm BST Who: The vigil is co-sponsored by the Maltese community in London, ARTICLE 19, the Association of European Journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Commonwealth Journalists Association, Index on Censorship, PEN International, Reporters Without Borders, The Rory Peck Trust and Transparency International-UK

Press contacts:

Robert Zammit, for the Maltese community in London, at +44 (0) 7873 590480 or zammitrob@gmail.com ; Sarah Clarke, ARTICLE 19, at +44 (0) 20 7324 2502 or sarahclarke@article19.org ; William Horsley, Association of European Journalists, at wh@williamhorsley.com ; Bebe Santa-Wood, Committee to Protect Journalists, at +1 212-300-9032 or press@cpj.org; Rita Payne, Commonwealth Journalists Association, at +44 (0) 7834 845 240 or ritapayne@hotmail.com ; Joy Hyvarinen, Index on Censorship at +44 (0) 20 3848 9820 or joy@indexoncensorship.org ; Sahar Halaimzai, PEN International at +44 (0)20 7405 0338 or sahar.halaimzai@pen-international.org ; Rebecca Vincent, Reporters Without Borders at rvincent@rsf.org ; Leanne Dmyterko, The Rory Peck Trust at leanne@rorypecktrust.org ; and Harvey Gavin, Transparency International-UK at + 44 (0)20 3096 7695 or harvey.gavin@transparency.org.uk.

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 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. A protest memorial honouring her memory in Valetta, Malta’s capital, is being repeatedly destroyed.

The Maltese authorities’ recent announcement to launch a public enquiry 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.