Strasbourg, 18 April 2018 – Members of the European Parliament Delegation to Malta following the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia on October 16th 2017 request Maltese Police and prosecutorial authorities to broaden the scope of the criminal investigation and look seriously into people with motivation to order the journalist’ assassination. Three men were arrested in December and charged with planting and detonating the bomb. But the motives and persons who ordered the assassination remain unknown.
The MEPs’ demand follows media reports about the investigation, revealing that Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family passed information to investigators according to which that Mr. Christian Cardona, the current Economy Minister, and two of the suspects in the killing, were regulars at the same out-of-the-way bar. The Police did not apparently follow suit on this information, which was reported by two people approached separately by members of the ‘Daphne Project’- an international collaborative journalism project – and who confirmed the Economy Minister was seen drinking with one of the murder suspects at the bar.
Mr. Cardona, who had sued Mrs. Caruana Galizia and had managed to get her bank accounts frozen, claims he did not have discussions with any of the suspects of the bombing. He was not yet questioned on this by the Police.
Members of the Delegation are seriously concerned that Malta’s Police are not actively looking into whether the crime was motivated by Ms. Caruana Galizia’s reporting on politicians, corruption and organised crime and call on the Police to take in consideration her own account to the Council of Europe, just some days before she was murdered, on the threats and judicial harassment she was enduring. Six months after her death, MEPs think it is time Malta’s Police takes action and properly inquire any person with alleged contacts with the suspected murderers.
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Ana Gomes
David Casa
Sven Giegold
Monica Macovei