Toronto Star
Manhunt in Malta
In October, the car bomb assassination of Maltese journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia sent shock-waves through the investigative journalism community. Daphne was a continuous thorn in the side of the Maltese government as she reported extensively on government corruption and criminality.
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Real Journalism Gets You Killed
Galizia was a lead investigator involved in unearthing Maltese connections to the Panama Papers. Her fearless reporting implicated high ranking officials including the Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat. Galizia received multiple death threats leading to her murder in mid-October.
The Guardian is reporting that 3 men have been charged in relation to Galizia's execution style assassination.
The three suspects include two brothers, George and Alfred Degiorgio, and Vincent Muscat. The suspects were also charged with criminal use of explosives, being involved in organised crime, and criminal conspiracy.
All three pleaded not guilty to the charges at a hearing late on Tuesday.
Maltese police conducted dawn raids and arrested 10 men in connection to the investigation.
Previously, the Guardian reported that Galizia's family were not privy to information relating to the police investigation which includes the military and agents from the FBI.
Caruana Galizia’s son Matthew, who is also a reporter, told the Guardian his family were “in the dark” about the arrests and had been given no further information beyond a phone call from a magistrate’s office after the arrests were made public.
At a separate event, the island’s police commissioner, Lawrence Cutajar, refused to take any questions about the arrests, which have been called one of the biggest police operations in Maltese history.
Political Pressure
Though the government's round up of suspects and the charging of 3 men in the murder has garnered front page news across Europe, there are many who view the arrests with skepticism.
Once the target of Galizia's tenacious reporting, Joseph Muscat is now actively pursuing justice in the case of Daphne's murder.
Joseph Muscat, Malta’s prime minister, promised in a press conference on Monday that he would not leave any stone unturned in finding who ordered the journalist to be killed and who carried out the attack.
Family Remains Unconvinced
Mathew Caruana Galizia, who is himself a journalist with the ICIJ, and younger brother Paul Caruana Galizia maintain that the individuals arrested and charged are simply low level conspirators.
Mathew Caruana Galizia on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcaruanagalizia
Taking to twitter, nineteen year old Paul highlighted the amount of political enemies his mother had gained over the years by showing the number of defamation lawsuits that had been filed against her, spiking in 2017.
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He also pointed to specific articles his mother had written about the PM and his chief of staff's passport scandal and kickbacks from Azerbaijani officials.
The Galizia family is pursuing a legal claim against the Maltese police claiming that the an independent and impartial investigation is not possible due to the connections between highest ranks of the police force and the government of Malta. The police force was also a subject of Daphne's highly popular blog.
It would appear the men arrested are patsies albeit guilty ones. I cant see the true perpetrators the ones who ordered the hit being brought to justice, they rarely do. However its good news if they ever get into a court room. They need to be put into protective custody to ensure their survival to make it into court, if they're not I don't fancy their chances of ever getting there.
Nice work buddy.
I agree, those that ordered her killing will most likely never be brought to justice. It's hard to have justice when the police investigation is compromised form the beginning.
waiting to see when they will arrest the ones calling the shots.
Ever hear of the Knights of Malta? I woudn't hold my breath waiting on local cops to go after them.
Very Good Point !
Exactly. Organized crime is often times just state sponsored terrorism using them to do the dirty work their agents can't
What a tangled they weave :( My only hope is that these fall guys are somehow able to implicate the puppet masters. Of course if that's the case I would be surprised if they ever made it to court. Thank you for staying on top of this @v4vapid
Whilst lookng into this story I was reminded of the below quote and that in itself is deeply disturbing:
“In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” G. Orwell
It's the second time I read you on the topic, thanks for keeping us up-to-date on the developments following this tragedy.
It might not be related at all with this sad murder, but I still think it's relevant to keep in mind that the ICIJ may not only be about investigative journalism:
https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-panama-papers-and-regime-change-who-is-behind-the-international-consortium-of-investigative-journalists-icij/5519178
https://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/04/what-the-panama-papers-mean-for-putin.html
As to the arrest of 'low level conspirators', I doubt anyone thinks PM Muscat would wire up her car himself.
Any familial relationship between Vincent Muscat and Joseph Muscat?
Thanks!
Good question, but as far as I'm aware it's just a coincidence they share the same name.
Thanks for news sharing.@ v4vapid.
Thats it, even the highest enforcements agencies in the world is somehow corrupt. I dont know if the Galizia family is right. But somehow i feel so..
Thank you for sharing
Nice post @v4vapid, damn its rainbow six siege...
Love the news, its nice and detailed ...
Curated for #informationwar (by @openparadigm)
Relevance:News
Thankx for sharing that news
thats a great news one..thanks for sharing my dear
best of luck..✌👌👏👏
May god plus this woman with all his mercy. She gave her life while 57 thousand people are waiting for 8 years for him to make his 1st tweet. That is too sad.
Journalism in some country is very difficult.Many journalists are attacked by the government of so many countries in the world.We should take effective action.
The low-level operators will be round up. They will either be killed before trial if the "truth" is something they want to talk about it. Most likely, take all the charges.
The invention of Twitter does at least muddy up the game.
We live in an upended terrain where the hunter is hunted and the prey is having a field day
Scary stuff.
Go figure.. 3 useful idiots, and case closed? The only course for true justice today is exposing the truth. Daphne Galizia was leading the way, a real hero.
Can anyone share any info on Canadians being in the Panama Papers, please? (hard to find any reliable sources here that aren’t in Junior’s Fan Club.)
Humand not Animal